I didn’t think Chemistry would be my favorite subject in school. In middle school and freshman year, I was bored with science and I dreaded going to class, but this all changed during my sophomore year.
On the first day of class, I was afraid to be in a class of juniors and seniors. I also afraid about the work load. I heard stories from previous Arrowhead graduates on how Chemistry didn’t make any sense-- it was like reading a book in archaic Latin, and how it ruined their GPA. But that wasn’t the case with Mrs. Koch.  After squeezing my way through the crowds of people in the hallways, I managed to get to my class. A bright, bubbly and blonde teacher was there to greet me.
“Hi! How was your first day?” she asked while smiling.
I knew from that moment that Chemistry wasn’t what I thought it would be.
With Mrs. Koch’s energetic, enthusiastic, and excitable attitude, Chemistry was enjoyable, and the class I always looked forward to. It was challenging, but it also made sense. When something would make sense or it was her favorite topic in class, she would smile so much that I wondered if her cheeks hurt at the end of class. She called us the “Super Sophomores” because we usually got the highest test averages in all of her classes.
At first the classroom was bare, white and boring, but within the first two weeks of school, she had dry erase boards of student’s artwork around the room. We sat in rows, which made the room look intimidating, but we would always joke about the moving seats. When we would come in, the desks would be moved over six inches every day until we were piled against the wall with little to no room in the isles.
With my interest in pursuing a career in either meteorology or forensic science, I had a closetful of questions to ask, and Mrs. Koch was always there to answer them. She helped me figure out what science classes I should take to help with my future plans. I would ask questions about results I got on experiments I did at home, and how certain topics tied into forensic science. She never acted like a question I asked was a dumb or stupid question (and I had a lot of those questions).
She always made the point to ask us what our plans were for the weekend, and she told us stories of what was going on in the Koch household. She told us stories about how her house got struck by lightning, or what her two year old said or did. Even if we got off topic, she didn’t scold us and she still got through the amount of information that we needed.
She would always ask for questions from students, and no matter how many questions there were, she would always take the time to answer each one with detail. She would never raise her voice or yell at students. During labs, people would break beakers and flasks and she would never yell or chastise the student. She sometimes would even smile a little. She made the 40 minute classes fly by and by the time we were done with the year, I was bursting at the seams with knowledge.
At the end of the school day, students are antsy. Lectures were almost impossible to teach at the end of the day. Kids would walk into class groaning and grumbling about having to sit for another 40 minute class, so she would try to make it quick, but informative so they didn’t have to sit and be bored. She could look at us and see if we understood something, or not and if we didn’t she would try to explain it in another way so the blank stares wouldn’t be on our faces.
After one year of chemistry and a plethora of memories under my belt, I am more interested in science than I was before.  I went from dreading going to the class, and thinking it would ruin my GPA, to loving the class and understanding the content. Science was boring and was too easy, but then with Mrs. Koch, it has changed my perspective. This is why Mrs. Koch is my teacher of the year.