When trying to think about who to write about, there are really two teachers that stood out. They are the only two teachers that if I saw them outside of school I would want to go up and talk to them. That would be Mr. and Mrs. Dodge. I had Mr. Dodge as a study hall supervisor for the entirety of freshman year and some of my sophomore year and Mrs. Dodge was my math teacher for sophomore year at Arrowhead High School.

A few months into my freshman year, I discovered that Mr. Dodge was a triathlete. It was the first time that I could share my passions with my teachers. I got to hear about his training for his upcoming Ironman season and I was inspired by him. I got to know him really well and on some occasions, he would visit where I worked, Wheel and Sprocket. We would catch up and it was great being able to hear about what was going on.

My sophomore year started out being my worst year. I just didn't want to go to school and I really didn't like math and I was not good at it, but math class was one of my favorite classes to go to. It was a place where we could talk about running and biking. Then one day I remember coming to school and I talked to Mr. Dodge before I had math and he told me about Mrs. Dodge's crash going over railroad tracks. Then a few days later Mrs. Dodge was back in the classroom with a broken elbow and told the whole class about the incident. Then when covid happened we were all sent home and started virtual school. It was fun coming to virtual math class because I was able to talk about my training and I was able to hear about her recovery and how she came back from it and was able to get back out riding and running. It was also a time that I could hear what Mr. Dodge was up to and how he was doing.

Looking back at it, I am very happy to have had two amazing educators in my life to talk to about an uncommon sport in a school filled with football and basketball players and for that I am thankful.