Yvonne Friday, M.D., knew she wanted to teach and help shape people's lives from a very young age.

For Dr. Friday, it was her religious upbringing and interaction with former childhood teachers that encouraged her to help people and invest in the lives of others.

While growing up, Dr. Friday felt that teachers were the people who had the most fun at their jobs and she greatly enjoyed her time in school. She felt that the teachers who were positive and had lots of energy were some of the most influential people in her life.

"Teaching made sense for me because I was taught that when you have a set of skills, you also have a responsibility to share those gifts with as many people as possible," she said.

Dr. Friday serves as the director for undergraduate pediatric students and as co-chief of the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine for the Wayne State University School of Medicine and the Children's Hospital of Michigan.

While Dr. Friday provides her students with valuable input, she also insists that teaching is a two-way process.

"Everything about teaching is like a circle. I am able to share my knowledge with my students and they will inevitably teach me something as well. I then take what I learn from them and incorporate that back into my own teaching," she explained.

It is this "circle" philosophy that has made Dr. Friday so admired among her students.

"I strongly believe in personal investment. My favorite thing about teaching is seeing the light come on in a student's mind and they are then able to use that knowledge to become a better doctor."

Her love for teaching and medicine helped shape her passion for pediatrics. She loves working with children because of their resiliency and honesty.

"Children are our most valuable assets. We rely on children to grow up and contribute to the world, and they will only be as good as the time, energy and care we invest in them," she said.