I will never forget her soft smile assuring me everything will be okay while I uncomfortably took my AP US History test. I fussed in my chair—unable to decipher which of the two best answers was correct. I trusted my incorrect gut sense telling me to choose C. That day I stayed after class in the 20-minute study hall we both had to ask for advice. I was barely holding on to my low B in her class which never had happened to me in a class before. 

Mrs. DesRosiers was always enthusiastic when I asked for help and gave me different strategies she used herself in different difficult classes as a student. The most effective strategy she helped me learn was covering up the answers with my hand while reading the test question. She told me to read the question, close my eyes, and then try to come up with what I thought an answer could be. After I thought of an answer I was told to uncover the possible answer choices and select the answer that best matched the answer I came up with before. 

This strategy sounds like common sense, but in AP classes deciding among four “correct answers” on what best fits the question can be extremely difficult.

Mrs. DesRosiers is not only a teacher, but she is also a wife, mother, talented musician, and a student herself. I like to think of Mrs. Desrosiers as a student like myself because she is constantly seeking out further education. She knows what it's like to struggle in classes, therefore understanding how to effectively help and encourage her students.

At the beginning of the school year, I woke up in the early morning to a ping on my laptop—she had just graded one of my essays at almost 2 am. During what became almost daily 20-minute chats after class, I curiously asked her why she was up so late grading. She informed me that she was finishing another Master’s degree while still teaching five AP Psych and AP US History classes at the same time.

Mrs. DesRosiers has a B.A. in History from Bradley University and continued her education alongside teaching full-time to acquire her Masters of Education from Carroll University. By the end of the year after taking her AP US History class, she had finished her Master’s of Arts in American History from Gettysburg College. 

Mrs. Desrosiers is kind, considerate, and loving to all of her students. Every time I walk past her classroom she always greets me with a smile and asks how I am even though I am no longer a student of hers. Recently, she confided in me that she was retiring after this semester and would no longer be teaching after almost 40 years of changing student’s lives, like my own. We will all miss you Mrs. DesRosiers and wish you the best in this next chapter of your life. Thank you for everything.