Science class was not necessarily where my leading grades came from. And don’t get me wrong; I absolutely loved the subject, but I was skilled in it. If only I knew that help was on the way for my middle school science grade.

I was inching towards graduation from Merton Intermediate School and was nervous for what was to come. My grade was going to have a new science teacher that year and still had no idea who it was. As soon as I walked into the science room is when I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Wagner. He was previously a teacher at Silver Lake Middle School and our last year at Merton was his first year. He made each day brighter with his kind blue eyes and a warm smile that would light up a room. 

Music is where we first connected. One of my favorite things he did was begin each class with a new song for us on his record player. This was something I’ve never seen any other teacher do and it became extremely special to me. He’d elaborate about the song, artist or band and afterwards, our class would discuss our thoughts about it. He showed us pictures of where he kept his records; music from decades ago or just a few years back. Mr. Wagner trusted me enough to use the record player by myself and play whatever music I felt like. He showed each and every student their importance in life by showing their importance to him. He listened and cared. 

I recall becoming frustrated with the light unit in his class second semester. But he never gave up on me and made time to help me through all of it during either my lunch or study hall. Later, this became a consistent thing and I would stay for lunch a couple times a week and just talk about life with him. Some days I’d come in during study hall to get help or if I had nothing to work on, I would re-organize all of the vex parts for his next class. He influenced such a humble, caring and happy character he had in himself. Mr. Wagner helped me through so much in middle school; my problems with friends, family, self-esteem or anything that’s on my mind. He was there whole-heartedly through my good and bad days. 

When graduation came around, I was sad to leave but Mr. Wagner reminded me of just how proud he was and that he’ll always be around. Before I walked out the doors, I hugged him goodbye and told him how grateful I was for everything he’d done for me. So thank you again Mr. Wagner, for helping make my last year, the best year.