I have loved math and science all of my life. Usually, math and science classes have come easy to me. However, my junior year, I took an advanced science class and two math classes. This was a real challenge for me. 

I struggled. AP Statistics, my teacher was Mr. Olenchek. He taught AP Statistics for grades 11-12, and he loved old movie and cartoon references. He loved cross country skiing and biking and boy he was a character. 

My first test in the class happened to be the exact day after the deadline to drop classes. I ended up getting 62%. My grade was a D. That night I came home upset and embarrassed because the test had See me scribbled across the top and I felt like I completely messed up by taking his class. 

I came to class the next morning before school and I talked to him. This is where I discovered that he wasn’t upset, but there to help me figure out what I did wrong. We sat down at his desk, he looked over my test and said, “you made some silly mistakes, you’ll be fine.” 

He gave me some tips to help me with my next test, and he gave me the confidence that I needed after getting a D that I could save my grade and do well in the class. My whole mindset and mental health had gotten a lot better after our talk. I felt like I could breathe, and a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders.

Every day I would come to my first period class which was right next to his class and he would pop in to say hi or see me getting to my class and say hi. He was the teacher that made me realize that you're not a bad person if you don’t understand a concept in a class. 

Mr. O came to class every day with a bright smile on his face and a joking, lighthearted attitude. He made class fun and memorable with his “demonic devices” which is what he called sayings that would help us remember concepts. “shape, center, spread oh my'' which was a reference to Dorothy, used to remember how to describe a distribution was one of my favorites. 

Till this day, Mr. O has made the biggest impact on me as a person. Not just teaching me that as long as I worked at the topic at hand, I could conquer any topic and to never give up. But I remember him for the kind, joyful, caring person he was. He always brightened my day, thank you Mr. O.