I walked into my second hour class during the first day of my sophomore year. Standing before me was a lean, tall man named Mr. Johnson.  He looked like a character out of the movie  “Jack and the Beanstalk.” He was larger than life and I couldn’t help but look up at him.  “How is it going, Austin?” he asked.  Soon, I realized he was not just an ordinary teacher--he was a role model, mentor and friend.

He was the kind of teacher who took time out of his day to help me outside of the classroom. One time he stayed until 5:00 pm to help me and school got out at 2:30 pm. On this particular day, my dog died and I was very sad. Because of this, my homework was piling up and I didn’t know if I would ever be able to finish it Before I knew it, there was Mr. Johnson.  And this was not just a one time thing--Mr. Johnson often took time out of his day to talk to me if I need someone to talk to. 

I am not the easiest student to work with because I’m not always on top of things.  I can be unorganized and miss stuff half of the time. But, Mr. Johnson would be on top of me if I had even one missing assignment.  Whatever it took, he would be there for me.  After the last period of the day, he was still working and there for me, even if I was the only one there.

In addition to being a teacher, he is also a Cross Country coach.I decided to be a member on Arrowhead’s Cross Country team during meets and practices, he would cheer me on.  With his help, I kept beating my past week’s time. This is particularly true for the race at UW-Parkside. This was a tough, hill filled course--and did I mention it is a college cross country course? After the race I saw a reporter so I went up to him and asked him if I could say thanks to all the people that cheered me on.  All of that work payed off when I got an article in the Waukesha County Freeman. A few days later it was in the newspaper.

Mr. Johnson is a menter, a friend, and a teacher.  We have been through the best of times and the roughest of times. He is the number one teacher of them all. He is inspiring and creative and pushed me to achieve great things.