Free Scholarships Blog

Submitted by Rachel Adaya (University Of Nevada Las Vegas)

Amy Miracle, who teaches Human Nutrition121 at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, inspired me to try my best in school. At the beginning of the semester I was hesitant about taking the course, but by the end of it, I was motivated to succeed. The greatest way she encouraged me and her students was by challenging us through intriguing lectures and weekly quizzes. Out of all my classes, from my freshman year in high school to my freshman year in college, I never felt so attracted to learning and applying my intelligence. The fact that she not only affected me, but also all of her students, makes her stand out as an outstanding educator. Whenever a student had a difficult time with the material of the course, she would take time out to help them. She is approachable, respectful, and is knowledgeable about the information that she teaches. When I speak to her past students, I get positive feedback. I know I can go day by day and remember what I learned about human nutrition. That is what makes her such a great teacher. Maybe she did not change the whole student body, but she impacted her students through motivation and encouragement.

Submitted by Jordan Mallory (Independence High School)

Since I started at Independence High School, there was always one person I could look up to that would help me with anything and everything, Ms. Bohannon a.k.a Ms. Bobo. She is my high school counselor and strives to help every student she comes across. She is a very fun, happy-spirited person who keeps her head held high without any downs. I love her so much. She is more than a counselor to me; she is like my friend. I could go to her when I need help with something or if I am having problems she is always the one to talk to.

Submitted by Jordan Denesik (Stanford University School Of Medicine)

Students in any grade of any type of school depend on support and inspiration from their teachers. Educators that don’t help, pay attention to, or encourage their students leave a negative and dreary attitude within the student The reality, unfortunately, is that there will always be teachers that students just don’t like whatsoever. On the other hand, there are always teachers that create a positive and fun atmosphere for the students. With this, one of my teachers that has inspired and helped me in an abundance of ways is my theatre teacher from Barry Goldwater High School, Brittany Sutton.

Mrs. Sutton is a teacher who makes any student feel like they are important, and she helped me realize that I am worth more than all the negative and hurtful things I think about myself. After my first year in her class I started to realize just how awesome she was and when I came back as a sophomore, we started to talk and get close and she was always there for me to just talk or give me some words of encouragement on a really, for lack of a better word, crappy day. One of the most loving things that she has ever done for me occurred my sophomore year. I had actually just come from a treatment center for anorexia. As soon as I walked in the door, a big smile came on her face and she gave me a huge hug. This single hug opened my eyes to how much she cared for all of her students and wanted all of them to know that no matter what life throws their way, someone is always there with a helping hand to guide them.
Mrs. Sutton also ignited a fire in me that inspired me to pursue and challenge anything to achieve my dream. Any day I went into class with eating disorder thoughts raging through my head, her sweet and caring disposition just masked over those terrible and awful thoughts until they became almost non-existent. Mrs. Sutton’s smile and character (which was positive and “crazy,” and downright funny) always made me smile and just brightened my day. She made me feel like I could conquer anything and everything.

One last thing I want to say about Mrs. Sutton is that she shows such dedication not only to her students, but to the school as a whole. So, in an inadvertent way, the students could be benefited as well. Through this past year, she has played an integral part in getting our school the A+ Award and making our school known throughout Arizona.This essay does not give Mrs. Sutton the credit she deserves, but the main message is that she has a heart that envelops anyone and everyone she meets and has a goal to inspire all of her students and make them feel like they have the potential to do everything they have ever dreamed.

Submitted by Theresa Young (Center High School- Antelope CA)

If I had to choose one noteworthy teacher from my high school, it would have to be my history teacher, Mr. Graham. He is the one teacher that I had who you go up to and say “Mr. Graham, I’ll pay you ten dollars to shave your mustache that you have had for 20 years,” and he’ll reply back, “Get an A+++ on the next test and then I will think about it.” He goes out of the way to teach all three types of teaching. His verbal lectures are always stories about a kid around our age who faces the troubles in his country or part of the world and always include humor of some sort. He gives us dreadful book work, but not that often. He also does horribly drawn but goofy visual lectures that help everyone in the class understand exactly what is going on. Mr. Graham goes out of his way to help any student after school who really wants it. We play a really interactive buzzer game with to review for the final or a big test. He’s the kind of teacher that everyone who doesn’t have thinks is really weird, but the people who do have him think he is a blast. Mr. Graham is caring, outgoing, supportive, and an all-around great teacher. He not only teaches well; he is a kid at heart, and he is our one and only “Mr. Graham Cracker.” I wish he could teach all of my history classes. He made it easy to understand and surprisingly really fun and exciting.

Submitted by Heidi Sedar (LLHS)

The most inspiring educator at my school is a teacher we all call “Mr.K”. It seems as if he knows everything about anything. He is a computer, marketing, introduction to law, government, and personal finance teacher. He is also the football coach and is the main person who helps with the weight room at my school.
He is a teacher who every student is slightly afraid of but still thinks of as a favorite. Everyone shows him great respect becaause of the simple fact that he has earned it. He has taught at my school for many years know and seems to remember everyone who ever entered his class room. So many of the students who have graduated will consider him the best teacher at my school. I agree with that statement.

Submitted by Lauren Rodriguez (Everest Institute Everest College Torrance)

Although the fourth grade was many years ago for a lot of people, it was a milestone in my life. My fourth grade English teacher Mrs. Kepp was always in a chipper type of mood. Having to be stuck in school for eight hours a day was not much fun… except in her class! She had a passion for doing what she did; teaching. It didn’t mean as much to me as it does now but she gave a positive outlook toward writing, grammar and yes, even reading! She was always there to give us extra help and even if things were tough, in our young lives, she was always encouraging. I know I am not the only person who had her that feels so inspired. Every child should have an inspirational teacher like Mrs. Kepp to give them a zeal for school; however, these days it is hard to find one. I applaud her for all of her hard work and enthusiasm for helping others. Thank you!

Submitted by Jamillah Rodriguez (SUNY at Stony Brook)

The most inspirational educator I know is Mrs. Hoffman from my high school, Susquehanna Valley High. I recently faced an upsetting moment where another person ignorantly made racist slurs towards me. Being one of the few minorities in the school, I have a hard time facing these kinds of comments. She spoke to me and not only reassured me that there would always be good in the world, but told me I was beautiful. Not only does this kind-hearted lady do her job effectively, she reaches out and touches aspects of the students’ lives that many are unable to reach. My year has been made by her selflessly kind words. She has gone out of her way to make me feel as comfortable as possible in a setting where I normally feel isolated. Her optimistic view on the world has given me something to aspire towards in the future and I’m grateful that I had the pleasure of conveying my inner thoughts to her through her creative writing class. She never failed to make me feel beautiful and wanted, something every teenage girl should feel more often.

Submitted by Joanne Sassone (Hofstra University)

There are many teachers that will do their job and teach a student. However, there are a select few who teach more than just classroom material. For me, one of those teachers is Mrs. Kim.
Mrs. Kim was my chemistry teacher my sophomore year at Francis Lewis High School. Knowing that she taught a more difficult subject to understand, Mrs. Kim always made herself available throughout the school day to help her students. She would always sacrifice her lunch to help tutor kids who had a hard time understanding, like me. I thought it was extremely selfless of herself to give up her free periods and her lunch periods to sit and reteach lessons she taught earlier in the day. Not only did she do that, but she also would hold morning sessions before first period, which started at 7:15 am, and brought in bagels for everyone who attended. She is truly the one teacher that really inspired me to learn because I saw how passionate she was for chemistry and how eager she was to teach students about it.
Besides being so dedicated towards her student academically, she was someone I could talk to as well. I found a mentor in her, not just academically but personally. During my sophomore year I was dealing with a lot of personal issues with my mother and family related problems. I spoke to Mrs. Kim about everything openly and confided in her. She truly gave me really good advice and allowed me to see everything through another perspective, especially since she is a mom herself.
Teachers are people you will never forget. Especially the ones that are really resourceful, teach you well, and impact your life. I will never forget Mrs. Kim.

Submitted by Pamela Diala (Upland High School)

We all have the teachers that are crazy, the ones that we cannot possibly stand (yes; the ones where if we all could, we would switch right out of their classrooms in a heartbeat), and the ones that we would simply die from joy if we had. As my freshmen year rolled around in high school, I was a little girl who, frankly, did not know what exactly she was supposed to be doing. I went to my world history teacher and the world transformed as I know it. Mr. Dan Hynes has been teaching, as he jokes, ‘for as long as he can remember’ and to him, no other job beats his. From Zero Period Economics to Summer School, he has been there when many students think that high school is unbearable (I still think that it is). When it comes to teacher recommendations for colleges, scholarships, etc., he has his hands full. This is not only because he is such a great teacher, but also because he truly takes the time to make sure that he knows his students. NO other teacher cares more about the well-being of his students, and a letter of recommendation from him is in one word, gold. Mr. Hynes believes that the sky is the ultimate limit for each one of his students and he will not hesitate to push you even when you think that you have reached your full ‘potential’. Learning is a process; he always seemed to tell me. Give it time and it is bound to come. Mr. Hynes is the ultimate motivator. He had pushed me to strive for the stars and because of his good nature and his generous heart, one cannot help but WANT to be the best when they are around him. He is that teacher that all would die from joy to have and I can only hope that he will be eternally rewarded for his generosity and dedication.

Submitted by Theranie Moore (University Of Akron Main Campus)

Mr. Hartenell was my history teacher my sophmore year. He was amazing. I usually never really like the subject, but he made it my favorite very easily. He taught us in many different ways than all of the other teachers–The civil war with a water balloon reenactment; World War I with a board game. The different cultural changes through the decades with flashbacks and movies. He is an amzing teacher and I will always love him and the subject of history because he always put a little bit of us and himself in the history we learned. Mr. Hartenell was so enthusiastic, it made us want to engage more, which gave him the opportunity to teach more.