Reading? Not even close to my strong suit. Everytime I look at a book I immediately think, does this book have a movie that I could watch? But That all changed, when I had Mrs. Grendahl as my eighth grade English teacher.
Every week or two, she would pick out several books, give us a summary on each book and we could pick the book we wanted to read. Based on the books we chose, we were put in certain groups. Of course, I chose whichever books my friends chose because I hated reading. Then there was this one book she recommended to my group of friends: A Deadly Game of Magic by Joan Lowery Nixon. As usual, I was opposed to reading it. But when I got home to read it, I just couldn’t put the book down.

When I got to English class the next day, we sat in our groups to discuss the book, and it turned out my whole group also couldn’t put the book down. We had read a whole book in one night. Mrs. Grendahl then put our group in a special reading program. We got to make a movie trailer on our book while the other students were still reading their books in their groups. This made me look at reading in a better light.

Mrs. Grendahl was not only someone who taught English class or helped me see the joys of reading, she was also personable with everyone, no matter who the person was. She got to know each student as an individual. Soon enough, English class was one of the classes I looked forward to.

I’ve always wanted to become a Pastry Chef and open my own bakery and she knew that. She always asked me if I still wanted to open a bakery, or what treats I baked recently. She wanted to know, she wanted to get to know me, and she wanted that personal connection.

But the end of eighth grade year isn’t where Mrs. Grendahl and I stopped communicating. During the summer she asked if one of my friends and I wanted to babysit her new puppies for her. While she rehearsed for play practices, we would took care of her dogs. My friend and I

would show up at school and there would be Mrs. Grendahl waiting for us. We watched her dog for several hours outside of the school until her play practices were over. I enjoyed looking after her puppies because it was nice to know that teachers aren’t just teachers. They are people too- people who sometimes need their dogs to be watched every once in a while.

Then soon enough, Facebook was very popular, and of course I had to add Mrs. Grendahl. Was she going to accept it even though I was a former student of hers? The sound of the notification rang—friend request accepted.

Now and again she comments on my statuses, with those silly little comments I love seeing. They remind me that she still cares. Once in a while, I go back and visit her, see how she is doing, and every time, she asks about me being a Pastry Chef. She remembers. When I got accepted into Le Cordon Bleu in Minnesota, she was one of the first people to comment on my Facebook. She still cares.

I have never had a teacher, that after all these years, still cared about one of her students. She is very personable and she is down to earth and very understanding. Even outside of school, she doesn’t change. Her personality is pure.

Mrs. Grendahl deserves this award because she is not only just another English teacher. She is someone who wants to help, someone who wants to get to know students, and someone who can relate to her students. She made me look at reading differently and made me want to read. She also showed me that teachers are people too, who actually care about students and their lives. She wasn’t just a teacher I had, and will never see again. She is someone who I will continue to keep in touch with. Mrs. Grendahl is someone who can I say changed me.