I have had a lot of great teachers. My third grade teacher helped me develop my love of reading. My US History teacher helped me develop my love of history and politics. But the teacher that has probably made the biggest impact of my life and my development as a student was my Geography teacher my freshman year: Mrs. Lundy.

Mrs. Lundy had a very hands-on teaching style. We did projects, watched movies, and talked about real world applications of what we were learning instead of just reading the book and having quizzes. Each time we went over a map she usually had a few maps from different time periods for us to compare. We were really able to see how much map making has come and how much more accurate maps are today than they were a hundred years ago. I remember one lesson where we learned about how airline pilots come up with the fastest routes while looking at a flat map. They have to curve the lines instead of making them straight for the most direct route. That was three years ago and I still remember that lesson very well because it was something I found to be very interesting. She always seemed to be able to incorporate things into her lessons that we all found interesting to help us learn.

Geography isn’t a very interesting subject, but Mrs. Lundy made it interesting. She made us realize how and why maps are made and how they have evolved from when they were first invented. We did a project one time where we made a 3D map. It was a very interesting project and one that a really enjoyed. I spend days laboring over this map trying to get it perfect. When the projects were due half the class didn’t have theirs. We were freshman and still getting used to having to be accountable for ourselves, so instead of yelling like many teachers might have, she spent the class explaining to us why it was important for us to have our things in on time and gave everyone one more day to get theirs in. She also warned us that we would never have the opportunity to turn anything in late without point deductions again. This was our freebee. She demonstrated patience, and by the end of the year, most of us were twice as responsible with our schoolwork as we were when we first started the school year.

One thing I really respect in Mrs. Lundy is her giving nature. During Christmas every year her classes adopt quite a few angels to take care of and give Christmas presents. She taught us that it is important for us to care about other as much if not more than we care about ourselves. That we shouldn’t give everything we have, but when we have extra is nice to help those that don’t have anything at all.

Mrs. Lundy is really more than a teacher or an educator. She is an amazing woman who managed to teach me about life while coloring in maps. She gave me a sense of civic duty and taught me a lot about the person I am and would to become one day.