Well, Mr. Melidosian or Mel, as I call him is my guidance counselor and the best one I've ever had, to be honest. Although technically this year I was supposed to switch over to our other counselor, I still go to see Mel about my problems or for help. A lot of the time I go just to talk!  Mel will always be one of my favorite staff members at John Dickinson.

Throughout my high school career, Mel has always been there when I needed to vent about my teenage dilemmas even though he's a very busy man and always had advice that helped. When I'd leave his office, I'd feel better and almost silly for being so upset with the issue before. He might not give me outstanding advice all the time, sometimes he just gives very simple solutions, but to hear them coming from someone who has your best interests at hand always, it has an impact. I don’t know a lot of people who actually talk about their real problems to their counselors, but it honestly can be very helpful. Advice from someone who isn’t biased to the problem at hand can be very insightful.

Another great thing about Mel, is that he used to be a math teacher. Seeing as I've always struggled with math, it's nice to have someone to go to for help who you can really get along with. My math teacher is great but sometimes the way he explains things just aren't right for me. It makes me happy, for lack of a better phrase, to know that Mel is willing to give up his time during and even after school to help me out with math.

I think Mr. Mel is a great teacher and a great counselor, but also a role model, someone to look up too. He does his job well and sets standards. He's someone who helps kids like me through one of the toughest parts of our teenage lives, high school. Even though he may not think he has such an impact on me, he does. Mel is someone I can go to talk to, a person who will try to help which everyone should have. I know a lot of my issues seem like silly teenage drama most of the time, but one of things Mel has said thats always kind of stuck with me is, “Well, you’re a teenager right? So stupid, teenage problems should be bothering you anyway”. Mel is an inspiration for me to do what I've always wanted to do, be a teacher. Seeing the way he impacts not just my life but others as well, makes me want to be one even more, so I can do the same thing for students in the years to come. Hopefully I'll do just as well a job, if not better.

Mr. Melidosian is one person I'm going to miss when I leave high school. I'll miss his corny jokes and almost always helpful advice. I'll also really miss having someone who's teaching style I can actually understand, to help me with math! I hope Mel knows the impact he has on his students because he works hard and he deserves the appreciation. He's not only a great counselor and a great teacher, he's my favorite teacher.