Growing up, I’ve had infinite opportunities to figure out what I’m going to do with my life. But based on the classes I’ve taken, I didn’t know if I would ever find the perfect career. But then I signed up for accounting my junior year at Arrowhead Union High School.

The first time I walked into the classroom, I was nervous. There were people I didn’t recognize, white walls, and chunky computers. But as I paid closer attention to the walls, I saw accounting jokes and puns. At first I found them weird, but the more I looked, the more I laughed.

As I scoped the room, Mr. Brester came in. He wasn’t tall, he wasn’t scary, and he definitely wasn’t what I expected for an accounting teacher. He had a look of excitement on his face, like a child opening presents on their birthday.

“Welcome everybody!” is the first thing I heard him say. He then began small conversations with the students who looked nervous. He started class by teaching us concepts none of us were familiar with, but made he made learning the new concepts easy to understand.

As he began teaching, he was nice, and he was patient. I didn’t feel worried anymore, because I was actually understanding the content for that chapter. And every chapter after that.

Mr. Brester made the class fun. Every other Friday, he allowed us to play games on our computers for the second half of the class period. Of course, the games involved money and managing, but it was something no other teacher did.

Every few weeks, he treated us to watching an episode of The Profit, and allowed us to see how Marcus is able to turn around failing companies. Mr. Brester did more than lecture about what we learned; he gave us fun ways to learn and the students appreciated breaks from our assignments. This taught me that it’s important to give my mind a break when needed, in order to ensure success in my work.

I learned so much from Mr. Brester that I started to fall in love with the career of accounting. I was excited to be able to sign up for the next level of accounting my senior year.

As a junior, I had so much fun in the class, and it was exciting being good at a subject. However, coming in senior year Mr. Brester expected a lot from me. I did well in the previous year, but this year is harder. The content became more mind boggling, yet I know whenever I need help, Mr. Brester is there.

Over the two years I’ve had Mr. Brester, I’ve realized accounting is the career for me. When I tell people about my love for accounting, they think I’m crazy. They tell me it’s a lonely desk job, and that they could never do it. But Mr. Brester has shown me the fun side of accounting.

Many people assume I want to be an accountant because my dad is one, and they can believe that if they want. But all that matters to me is that Mr. Brester knows he is the reason for my decision to major in accounting next year in college.

Thank you, Mr. Brester, for helping me find what I want to do after high school; and for making everyday in your class worth it for every single one of your students.