Elementary Education Student Thanks Aunt With Trip to Ellen DeGeneres' Show
Posted on 2/12/2008
University of Arkansas student Debbie Benton of Rogers is a big fan of comedienne Ellen DeGeneres. This week, she gets to attend the star’s talk-variety television show, but the trip to California is also Benton’s way of saying thanks to a special aunt.Benton sent an e-mail to The Ellen DeGeneres Show about her appreciation for her aunt, Rhonda Ince, and the show responded with tickets for the two women.
Benton is a junior majoring in elementary education. She attends classes on the NorthWest Arkansas Community College campus in Bentonville in a four-year teacher licensure program in which NWACC and the University of Arkansas are partners.
Last semester, Benton, the mother of three children, was taking 14 hours of coursework on two days a week at NWACC and working 10-hour shifts in the buyers’ department at the Wal-Mart home office in Bentonville the rest of the week. And, her husband, James Paul Benton Jr., was serving with the Army National Guard in Kuwait.
“My aunt moved up here a couple of years ago,” Benton said. “Without her, I don’t know what I would have done. She took care of the kids and is so sweet and caring.
“When I saw that Ellen was asking people to write about something special they would like to do for someone, I thought of Rhonda and all of the support she has given me. She doesn’t expect anything in return. Her birthday is on Valentine’s Day, and that’s the day the show we’re attending is supposed to air.”
Someone from the Ellen show called Benton on a Sunday afternoon after she sent her e-mail. Benton was asked many questions about her life and her aunt, but she was told there’s no guarantee DeGeneres will talk with her on air.
“It’s possible Ellen may pull me up to the front or recognize my aunt in the audience,” Benton said, “but we don’t know for sure.”
Later, Benton received a second call from the show and was told that DeGeneres would wish her aunt a happy birthday on air.
Benton and Ince left XNA for LAX on Tuesday. The show will tape on Wednesday and is scheduled to air on Thursday, Valentine’s Day.
Following the whirlwind trip to Burbank, Calif., Benton will go back to hitting the books. She’s no longer working the hours at Wal-Mart and her husband is back in the United States, currently deployed as a training officer in Missouri. Their children are Chloe, 6, Coleman, 8, and Brooke, 14.
Benton initially studied nursing after high school and worked in the health field for a while before spending nine years in the corporate world. She feels that, now, as an elementary teacher, she’ll truly be following her heart.
“Several people in my family are teachers, and I’ve always been involved with my children’s schools,” she said. “I feel like, if you can impact a child’s life in any way, that’s the best place to be.”
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