Teachers change lives every day

Thank you, Mr. Zwicker

Author: Karleena Squires
Teacher's name: Mr. Zwicker
Teacher's school: Booth Memorial

Those who knew me in school knew that I was an overachiever. I wanted to be the first in my family to go to University and I knew good grades were important in getting there.

When I started at Booth Memorial I quickly realized, however, that high school was a lot harder than I anticipated. I didn’t quite fit in anywhere, and I was subject to a fair amount of bullying. I had taken all advanced classes, so the work was much harder than I was used to.

Mr. Zwicker was my homeroom teacher. I saw him every single morning for the entirety of high school. He was there for every good and bad day, every report card, and every event. When I got my first report card, my grades were so much lower than I was accustomed to. I was so disappointed in myself. But it was Mr. Zwicker who kept my hopes up. He caught me crying after all my classmates had left and told me to not worry as it was just the first report card and that by the end of high school that report card wouldn’t mean a thing because he knew I could do better and believed in me.

I took every word he said to heart. I worked even harder at my school work, and by the end of the year my grades had improved. I was proud of myself but knew I could do much better. Mr. Zwicker’s words stuck with me as I moved through the next grades. I made a promise to him, my parents, and to myself that by the end of high school I would find myself on the Principal’s List (a 90+ average).

Mr. Zwicker was there every step of the way, continuing to encourage me, making sure I didn’t forget to have fun as well by joining some extracurricular activities.

By the end of Grade 12, my grades had improved so significantly that I not only had gotten on the Principal’s List, but I had been accepted into the Marine Environmental Technology Program at the Fisheries and Marine Institute, and had received several scholarships.

Mr. Zwicker’s belief in me helped me reach my full potential. No other teacher had believed in me like that before.

Thank you for believing in me Mr. Zwicker, I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for you!

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