I still remember my palms sweating, my stomach turning, and my head becoming foggy the first day I ever had Mr. Haase as a teacher.

But then he gave a speech about himself and he explained this class isn’t going to suck unless you look at it that way. He explained if you come into this class with a negative attitude, the class would be hard. But if you come in with a positive attitude and give some effort, you will succeed.

It got towards the end of the first week of the semester and I was debating whether to drop the class or not. But I didn’t. I did poorly in his class, but I am glad I took it. I struggled the whole year, but every time I went in to talk to him, he was patient and helpful. He took time out of his day to not only help me, but also other students who needed help. He is also able to manage his time between his wife and two kids, his job, and his basketball team.

This once scary and intimidating guy turned into be something I could never have imagined. Mr. Haase is a kind, passionate, and hilarious man. He is the head coach of the boys varsity basketball team. And he cares both about his athletes and his students. If you ask for help, he will never say no and he will find the best way to help you, As many students and athletes look up to him as a leader.

This year, I have Mr. Haase as a teacher for American Problems. And I saw this other side of him. He opened up and told us stories about him and his family. He would crack jokes every single day. And he even would ask us about how our day was going or what we did over the weekend. You could tell he wanted to get to know us better.
I feel comfortable going to him for anything I need.

I will always look up to Mr. Haase as a leader. He truly inspires his students and players to do their very best.