For educator of the year, I would like to nominate Katelyn Varga, a former eighth-grade social studies teacher, current high school History teacher, and current high school girls soccer coach for Conrad Schools of Science. Since sixth grade, I could not wait to be in her class and have her as my teacher. My brother had her that year, and she was his favorite teacher. Everyone loved her; no one had anything bad to say. Mrs. Varga brought out the best in each student and athlete. I was also lucky enough to have Mrs. Varga coach me on the soccer field. She was an amazing coach/mom/teacher to be with every day.
The first day I had Mrs. Varga for social studies I knew we would have a great relationship. Her style of teaching was amusing; she made everyone love social studies. Mrs. Varga made us feel special and valued in her class as well as motivated us all to work hard. She was always fair and ready to teach us each day. My favorite memory from her class was our class Civil War project. Each student picked a person from the Civil War to research and personify in class. I was Abraham Lincoln while other classmates were a slave, factory worker, or other famous people of the time like Jefferson Davis. Half of the class would walk around learning about the other student’s characters and their role in the tragic time period. Mrs. Varga always found little ways to make her class interactive keeping us all interested and learning while having fun at the same time. I loved going to her class and the way she taught us made the information stick in our heads so we wouldn’t forget.
Soccer started the first of March; this was when we began to get really close. I now got to see her every day for practice as well as still having her in class. On the soccer field, she was extremely motivational, dedicated, and pushed each girl on the team to strive for their best. At practice, Mrs. Varga made sure each girl would be ready for pure hard work; it was a lot of commitment. The practice before each game we would be handed a paper entitled, “This Weeks Scouting Report”. The paper would outline our upcoming competition; the team’s best players and the team’s attacking and defensive strategies. Mrs. Varga went out of her way to prepare us for our competition by scouting other teams during the school week. She did this in addition to planning for her classes and grading papers. Our very last game of the season was a huge one for us. We had to win to move on, the competition was tough, and it was literally 100 degrees that day. I’ll never forget the last words Mrs. Varga said to me in the few remaining minutes of the game, “play your heart out; I will come on the field and carry you off if I have to.” Mrs. Varga put all she had into our season, and she inspired all of us to be the best players we could be.
Mrs. Varga has such a major impact on not only me but almost everyone she meets. During my eighth grade year when I was deciding where to go to high school, she was one of the biggest reasons I wanted to stay at Conrad for high school. Mrs. Varga knew how to put a smile on everyone’s face every day. She always found ways to motivate her students to work their hardest and try their best. She could even motivate
difficult students who didn’t put a lot of effort into their schoolwork. Throughout the year she would get to know each of her students on a personal level; this helped her find the best ways of teaching each and every one of us. Her class always remained my favorite for the entire year; we always had fun but learned at the same time.
The last day of school was a hard one for both of us; it was the day I graduated eighth grade and moved on to a new school and a new high school soccer team. After our 8th grade graduation ceremony was over, I went to her room to say my final goodbyes. Mrs. Varga gave me the biggest hug and begged me to stay; we both stood there crying in each other’s arms. I knew my four high school years would be hard without a teacher/coach like her. I had the best year at Conrad, and Mrs. Varga was a huge part of that.
Mrs. Varga influenced me in so many ways, not only in class but also on the soccer field. She is an amazing teacher who uses different methods to reach all of her students needs. She respects and connects with each student, creating a fun and educational class. On the soccer field, she uses motivation and a tenacity to push us harder. Mrs. Varga is one of the best teachers and coaches that I have ever had. She puts everything she has into her job and has truly inspired me to work hard and be the best student-athlete that I can be. She is most definitely the best candidate for the title “Educator of the Year.”