My Influential Teacher by Kyla

My Influential Teacher by Kyla - June 2021 Scholarship Essay

My most influential teacher was my AVID teacher Mrs. Pautienus. AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. This class helps prepare high school students for college and their current courses. Each week we do tutorials where we bring a question/problem from one of our classes, and our group helps us gain a better understanding. We also learn about college, scholarship opportunities and go on college tours. In this class, you will gain more knowledge about college life and make long-lasting friendships along the way.
Mrs. Pautienus is a very caring person who will do anything in her power to make sure her students succeed and do the best they can in their classes. She goes above and beyond and takes the initiative to help her students. During tutorials, she would try her best and research if she was unsure how to solve a particular problem. Also, when everyone was confused about how to solve a problem, she would allow me to join a zoom meeting with one of my teachers to get help. Unfortunately, during the second semester of my senior year of high school, AVID did not work out with my schedule. I decided to become a student aid for AVID, so I can still be with Mrs. Pautienus, be part of the AVID program, and help her with whatever she needed. Even though I technically was not in the AVID class, she still took time out of her day to accommodate me whenever I needed help with one of my classes. When I tore my ACL during the school year, she even got it worked out to do class from home when I did not have a ride.
Mrs. Pautienus also has no problem being true to herself and will dance during class. During high school, I was pretty shy and was scared to be myself. Mrs. Pautienus taught me not to be afraid and to loosen up. She gave me the confidence to be myself. She made going to school more enjoyable.