Moving up to the north campus at Arrowhead High School was a big step. I did not know what to expect walking into my junior chemistry class for the first time. I could only think about my impending failure in this class and how challenging it was going to be for me. 

I walk in the door and see a bright smiling face. Mrs. Koch stands before me. 

As I sit down a lot of my anxiousness dies down. Just in the presence of Mrs. Koch, I was calmer. She created a calm and inviting environment.  Barely any teacher has been able to provide that for me before. 

As the semester went on my mental health took a toll. Especially one weekend specifically. I had to say goodbye to my childhood pet and the circulation of family issues. I missed school that Monday, just trying to put myself together. I was stressed about a quiz we had in chemistry the next day. 

As I am sitting at home with tears in my eyes, I sent Mrs. Koch a long email explaining what is going on. I feel bad for sending that email because she would’ve been at home with her kids and not probably wanting to worry about only one of her 200 students that she has every day. 

About an hour later I feel a vibration next to me. I pick up my phone to see an email response from Mrs. Koch.  She explained to me how she is sorry for my situation and that she had granted me more time with the school work. Reading this email I felt a weight being lifted off of my shoulders. I’m sure it doesn’t seem like a huge deal but to me, at that moment it was so relieving. 

Trying to get back on track with my work at times was difficult. I couldn’t understand the topics that were being taught and overall my grade was suffering. With low motivation, I could not see the good in trying to push forward. When I started to work with Mrs. Koch more personally it almost opened me to a whole new level of chemistry. It may not have seemed like I knew what was going on but she was able to grasp that understanding in my brain so quickly. 

Even though my grades might not have been perfect at all times, I was able to understand what   I was being taught. I just wanted to say thank you to Mrs. Koch for teaching me and being a teacher I was able to open up to. You showed me a different way to see the work and you made me like a class that I truly thought I was going to hate.