MICHAEL WILLIAMSON
I hate social studies. I especially hate U.S. History. Most people take U.S. History sophomore year. However, I put it off until I was a junior. It showed up on my schedule as the last class of my day. Great, the most boring class last, when all I want to do is get out school already.
I walked into class that day with a bad attitude. I slumped down in my seat. In walked Mr. Williamson, a curly haired and smaller guy, with a big personality. He opened his mouth and I just couldn’t stop laughing. He told crazy stories and even did a “Muppet Dance.� How could you not love this guy? He was funny, outgoing, and not to mention, down right ADORABLE. He’s the Dr. McDreamy of Arrowhead High school: beauty and brains. As much as I hated that class, he immediately had my attention.

His teaching style was your typical notes and overhead, but the way he presented it had me hooked. I had a different teacher first semester and got a D in the class. I simply didn’t understand anything and fell asleep half of the time. Mr. Williamson had the same material, but he got excited about it and got the class involved.
He was one of those guys that picked on the students who thought they were all that, but in a way the made them laugh along with the rest of the class. He made himself one of the students, so it was like learning from a good friend. He understood people make mistakes and never blew things out of proportion. He corrected students in a way that didn’t put them down, yet they knew not to do it again. Thankfully for me, he also had plenty of extra credit opportunities.
He was personable and relatable. He didn’t put on an act to impress us. He could take a joke and send one back. He even told embarrassing and funny stories about his college/high school life we could relate to.
I ended up with an A in that class and I was never prouder of myself. I couldn’t have done it without his teaching style and sense of humor. Mr. Williamson deserves this award because he’s able to put himself in the student’s shoes, but he knows when to take them off and be a serious mentor.