Passion. It’s a scarce commodity, particularly with teachers. However, open and caring is my Spanish 4 teacher, Mrs. Tomczyk. No one appreciates their students more than Mrs. Tomczyk. She begins class often sharing her weekend whereabouts, and more importantly asking us what we did. She knew what sports we did, activities we love to do, and more importantly, allowed me to share details I wouldn’t share with anyone else.

On my worst days (like when I was driving to school and scraped my side door on another car on my way to school), I knew I could look forward going to Spanish. I knew Mrs. Tomczyk could put a smile on my face and have a lesson that’d make me forget about whatever happened earlier.

With a wardrobe of every color on the rainbow, her outfits stood out in school. With a soft smile, she was always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone that struggled. With a warm greeting, she made every student feel welcomed in her classroom.

A below average Spanish student, I often struggled to interpret grammar skills and listening activities. This didn’t intimidate me, in fact, it motivated me to work ardently in class throughout the year. I could not do it alone though, Mrs. Tomczyk knew I had a goal to achieve an A in her class, and worked with me to not just remember what we’re learning, but to instead fully comprehend the lessons.

There was a cortometraje (short movie) that we watched in class, and we would have to answer questions regarding the plot. After filling out the Scantron, I knew with certainty I did poorly. No surprise, I received an F and my grade dropped like mercury on a cold day. I could have sat there and accepted it, but I knew I could do better. Determined to change, I asked her for some advice to improving my listening ability.

“I recommend watching something on Netflix such as kid movies in Spanish with subtitles,” she said.  

At first, I doubted this as I thought it would be silly watching childish cartoons in Spanish. But I accepted the challenge, and watched movies like Coco and even Frozen. With time, I was shocked as I did better on the pruebas de comprensión, and my grade slowly rose from a low B to a solid A. I set goals aside to specifically study and practice Spanish and with time, I saw the results.

Mrs. Tomczyk, transformed me from a student and person. I don’t just set goals, I go out and work towards them. I don’t accept my fate, I choose it. I don’t settle for less, I go for nothing less than the best.

She created a spark in me I never knew I had. She made Spanish class feel like a second home, and she deserves to be the teacher of the year as she exceed all expectations for a teacher.

Her passion for loving each individual student is a trait few have. I thank her for everything she has done to this point in creating me to the best person I could be.