The Most Influential Teacher in My Life by Anita

The Most Influential Teacher in My Life by Anita - June 2019 Scholarship Essay

The Most Influential Teacher in My Life
High School teachers always come and go. However it is those select few that you will remember throughout all your life. The ones that pushed you to do better and saw something in you when no one else did. The ones that were kind and helpful, who cared more about your well-being than about your average grade in the class. Those special few, the ones who cared for each and every one of their students, are the ones who helped a vast majority of us get through the hardest parts of our academics and high school life and for that I thank each and every educator who has made a difference in someone’s life. As for me, the most influential educator I had throughout my years of high school was my AP Biology, Human Anatomy and Physiology, and Human Biology teacher, Dr. Johnny Wade. At first I was not his biggest fan and I wished to just drop the class but I put aside my differences and stayed in the class, a choice which would benefit me greatly in the future as he has become one of the most influential and inspiring people in my life.
As I walked into the hall of the notorious A. Crawford Mosley High School my first week of sophomore year I was undoubtedly nervous. I had just changed schools, decreased my friend group to about three people, and had become the new girl in most of my classes. My friend had convinced me to take AP Biology with Dr. Wade because it was a prerequisite for the Pre-Med program, which she also convinced me to join. The class seemed impossible considering I had not already taken regular biology like all the others and I felt like I had dug myself into a hole I could not get out of. Additionally, I had asked around about Dr. Wade and only received worrisome looks and people wishing me “good luck” as if I was awaiting something truly terrible.
It was a rocky road with Dr. Wade in the beginning. He only referred to me as “ma’am” because of his failure to remember my name, which I thought was in my favor as it was less likely for me to get called upon during class. Eventually he did learn my name though as I began to take my schooling and the class seriously. I became his favorite by the end of my sophomore year and our differences were long forgotten. Eventually by the start of my junior year, it was no surprise I had signed up to take Dr. Wade’s Human Anatomy and Physiology/Human Biology class. We began the year dissecting cats and learning the bones, muscles, veins, arteries, internal organs, etc. of the cat and the human body. My love for the medical field grew more and more throughout the year as Dr. Wade included me in special dissections and presentations only a select few could perform. I began to take Pre-Med more seriously and received an administrative job at the beginning of the year. Dr. Wade helped me narrow down my future aspirations in life and helped me discover what I wanted to do with my life, become a pediatric surgeon. With my senior year approaching, Dr. Wade helped me even further by applying for internships to medical practices and hospitals around the city for me and a select few Pre-Med students. As a senior, I have the opportunity to advance my medical knowledge even greater than I could have ever imagined and expand my chances of getting into an amazing Pre-Med program for college.
Furthermore I am extremely thankful for Dr. Wade and for all the time and effort he has put into making sure I am becoming the person I want to be. He has made sure I am set up not only for high school, but for the future. His work ethic and diligence to succeed has inspired me to do the same. His famous quote “we work all the time we work,” meaning that you should not stop what you are doing until you finish what you have started, has helped me overcome my procrastination and helped me advance in my other classes. Overall Dr. Wade has become one of the most inspiring people in my life and my time knowing him has motivated and inspired me to become someone successful, happy, and prosperous, just like him.