The person I would like to nominate for Educator of the Year is  Sheryl Persinger, my eighth grade English teacher at All Saints Catholic School. She was caring, relatable, religious,  understanding , and inspirational.  For  these reasons and more she  made a lasting impression on me, and she  deserves this nomination.
Mrs. Persinger was caring because she  made me feel like I was her own child ;if I needed any help with anything, she was always there for me. She  always told   me and my class, if we  found ourselves in a bad situation,  her door was  always open for us. Her caring ways were felt by many of her students. Mrs. Persinger was one of the most caring teachers I have ever  had the opportunity of getting to know.

She was  down to earth and similar  to my family. We both come from large Italian  families. We  could always relate to certain things such as big parties; family traditions, and the noisiness of everyone.  We   talked  about our experiences and funny stories. It was very comforting having someone who could relate to all of that, someone who understands.

Mrs. Persinger is a very religious person. She took the time to help out at the  confirmation classes at St. Matthews Church.  She really cares about the young people and their religious education.     I could always tell that religion was a big part of her life  just from talking to her in everyday conversations;  she is very spiritual.   Her talks about making confirmation in class really opened  my eyes up and left me thinking wow it is a huge honor to be making my confirmation next year.

Mrs. Persinger is a very understanding  person. If I  didn't understand a question , she would break it down to the point where I  could understand. In the beginning of the year she started to realize how I learned. In the middle of the year my grades were average, but I struggled with some things.   She helped me  feel  not so overwhelmed when it came to test taking.  She would create different tests for different levels of learning.  Later on in the year my grades started to improve because I didn't feel so overwhelmed.  I have never been a great test taker; I could do amazing in class but not when it came to tests. My confidence started to improve my test grades. She believed in me. She believed   I could do anything  I put my mind to,  and that  meant the world to me.

Lastly, Mrs. Persinger is a very inspirational teacher. Her husband was diagnosed with cancer during the school year. She kept her head up and was positive. All she kept saying was “He is going to be ok; we will  deal with it day by day.” Mrs. Persinger said that she was thankful for all of us because coming into  school was like going to therapy. It took her mind off of everything that her husband was going through. The way she handled the situation inspired me because her positivity during such a rough time was another example of her strong faith. Also, the stories she would tell us were inspiring and interesting. One of the stories she told us was that after  her husband was brought into the church and was blessed  by many  people,  his condition  started to  improve.  I also enjoyed when she shared  her many stories about the American Indian Tribes.  She and her husband have a very strong  American Indian heritage , and those stories were interesting. She is a hard working teacher who would do anything for anyone. She would go above the standards of teaching, in ways that her lesson plans doubled as life lessons.

Mrs. Persinger is a teacher who believed in me,  believed that I could do anything that I put my mind to. She really instilled confidence in me. On the day of graduation, I thought to myself  not everyone gets a  fantastic teacher who shows that much love to them. I was very lucky to have had her as a teacher.  She is a very important person in my life. That's why I  believe she deserves to win  Educator of the Year.