WOODBURY — The top 10% of Nonnewaug’s Class of 2025 will enjoy a night at The Painted Pony in Bethlehem with family and teachers April 24 for the school’s annual academic banquet. While the idea is to celebrate our academic achievements, the teachers that my classmates and I selected to speak on our behalf should also be recognized for their crucial contributions to our success.
Usually, it takes thought for students to pick a teacher to write a speech about them and deliver it in front of an audience. One common pattern is that students will hear from a teacher whose subject aligns with their future career, as is the case with senior and salutatorian Micah Tracht.
“I picked Mr. [Ray] Robillard. He’s been a teacher of mine all four years of high school,” says Tracht, “and he teaches my favorite subject, math.”
Similarly, senior Grace Walkup, who plans to go into law, picked social studies teacher Becky Trzaski partly because of the academic relevance of the courses she teaches.
“I’m going into the social studies field,” says Walkup. “I wanted to pick a teacher that could speak about how hard I work, and specifically my passions and success within social studies classes.”
But beyond choosing a teacher that can speak to our ability to handle coursework related to the futures we plan to pursue, there is a more important factor that contributed to our choices: the connections we’ve built with teachers that invested not just in our academics, but our personal growth.
Senior Lily Kiernan, who chose AP Lang teacher Ben Guerette, is a prime example of this.
“Mr. Guerette helped me a lot during my junior year to learn how to create a balance between work and having fun,” Kiernan shares. “I always took academics very seriously, but it can be incredibly stressful and eventually weigh on a person. Guerette would always incorporate humor in his lesson plans, which then helped me strive to make working more fun.”
Senior Alex Tracy, who is grateful for AP Chemistry teacher Melissa Hodges’ guidance, shares this feeling.
“Ms. Hodges has helped me throughout high school by not only consistently supporting me through AP Chem, but also advising me for life after high school,” says Tracy. “I accredit much of her teaching to my success in AP Chemistry and on the exam, and I felt like she had really allowed me to resonate with the field and explore it further.”
“[Mrs. Trzaski] was an amazing support system as I was trying to deal with a rigorous course load,” Walkup adds.
I chose AP Lit teacher Conor Gereg for similar reasons as my peers. I value how he creates space for conversations about my day, blending witty humor with advice or new perspectives. His mentorship has been very valuable to me in becoming a better writer, and his positivity, thoughtfulness, and wisdom are qualities I deeply admire and strive to emulate in my own life.
Many of the top 10% students have learned things from their teachers in ways that the teachers themselves might not even realize. Often, the most impactful teachers help students improve themselves not only intellectually, but also personally, and this is reflected in the top 10% teacher selections.
“I really admire [Mr. Guerette’s] sense of humor and ability to integrate it into a professional career such as teaching,” Kiernan says. “I really liked him as a teacher and valued everything he brought to the classroom. … It made picking him as the teacher to speak for me a great choice.”
For most students, making flashcards or staying up late to study alone aren’t enough to succeed; students really flourish when they are guided by teachers who genuinely care about their success and promote their personal growth. Just like I can sense Gereg’s genuine care, my classmates can sense it from the teachers they chose.
Soon, the top 10% will hear their teachers’ speeches, but the teachers should also be recognized for the roles they played and continue to play in their students’ academic climb and personal journeys.
This is the opinion of Jano Nakhla, a senior features editor for the Chief Advocate and one of the 16 students among the top 10% of Nonnewaug’s Class of 2025.
