Life really goes fast, doesn’t it? It seems like just yesterday it was the start of my freshman year at Arrowhead High School -- dressed up in a buttoned down, collared shirt ready to start the next chapter in my life. Before I knew it, it was the start of junior year (the hardest year of high school). This was the year that colleges evaluated the most, so I had to give it my all and fill my schedule with vigorous courses.
One of the classes I chose to take that year was AP Physics B-1, a course that had never been offered before at Arrowhead. I wasn’t typically a science student, but I knew I needed to challenge myself.
As I walked into class on the first day of school, I saw the teacher and thought, Who’s dad is that? The classic image of the suburban dad stood in the front of the classroom dressed in a button down and khaki overalls. As I came to know Mr. Corry over the next school year, I would learn he was quite the opposite.
Mr. Corry’s style of teaching consists of a unique combination of a team coach and a science geek. He uses stamps and vocal encouragement to motivate his students every day to complete homework assignments and study for tests. These interesting stamps could range between a rainbow to a giraffe to a picture of his face, and helped to create a fun and inviting atmosphere at the beginning of every class. I will never forget the time when another student got him the “Corry Approved” stamp towards the end of the year. I remember him saying it was one of the best gifts he had ever gotten. The stamp had a picture of Mr. Corry and right above it was the soon-to-be trademarked saying, “Corry Approved” (In fact, I still have a picture of my homework the day I got the stamp). Additionally, while he goes over the homework, he would also engage with the students about their previous day’s adventures. He always cares about his students and their daily lives, which is hard to find at a big school like Arrowhead. This really helped me to grow as a student because I felt comfortable asking any question...no matter how ridiculous it seemed.
Mr. Corry is also one of the smartest people I have ever met and would show that each and every day in the classroom. Each physics lesson was connected to previously learned concepts and we almost always had an in-class demonstration to go with it. This was my favorite part of his class because each lab or demonstration always helped me to understand the material better. This is when his true science geek was revealed because he would have so much fun doing the experiments and would become crazy enthusiastic like a squirrel who finally found its missing nut. Even if I did not mentally grasp the lesson at first, he was always patient and tried to understand where I was going off track. This scenario was exemplified in almost every unit we studied, and I would understand the concepts better every time.
I am nominating Mr. Corry for this award because not only was his class one of the hardest classes I have ever taken, but because it was also one of the most interesting and engaging. He was one of the few teachers that I have had that will still say, “hello” in the hallways and ask questions about my future and college plans. Thank you, Mr. Corry, for giving me something to look forward to every day and being one of the best teachers I will ever have.