I coast through classes. I don’t build a connection with most of my teachers, and there have been times when I’ve gone through a semester where the teacher doesn’t know my name. But Mrs. Markano was the first teachers who kept me engaged in class. Maybe part of the reason why was because I’m involved in stage crew at Arrowhead High School, and Mrs. Markano is the stage crew advisor I behaved a bit better there, but that’s beside the point.

The first day of class for both English 10 and acting class, she had her syllabus projected up on the board for the class and told us, “I hate syllabus day. It’s here if you want it, but I’m not going to read through it.”

From there, we went right into classwork. That was the moment I started to appreciate Mrs. Markano’s personality as a teacher. She knows students well enough to know we don’t need (or want) to hear what’s on the syllabus.

While Mrs. Markano is a great teacher, she’s almost more fun in stage crew. Think of a short, spunky, sassy, mother-like lady who never wants you to leave home. That’s Mrs. Markano in two seconds.

Before every show, stage crew “circles up” and goes over notes from the night before and talk about improvements that can be made. On the closing night, one of the seniors will say something about it being their last of that show and Mrs. Markano will respond in a sad, almost whiney voice, “No. You’re not leaving.”

The way she interacts with my other friends at stage crew is what has made an impact on me. We spend hours upon hours together and she, at this point, has become another mom to most, if not all, of us.

So whether it’s in the classroom or not, Mrs. Markano will keep you engaged in what she is talking about, whether it’s the content or because of her energetic personality.