There is not another teacher I know like Mrs. Markano. Most people at our school know her as an English teacher but I know as the director and head of the Arrowhead Drama Department and a true mentor and friend to me. 

She works harder than almost anyone in the Drama Department or anyone in the school to make sure she gives each and every one of her students all of her effort and time to make their experience a good one to learn from and one to cherish. And all the while she still makes an effort to keep learning herself, trying to acquire new skills to make her shows even better. She’ll take time out of her day to learn to run the complicated chaos of a soundboard just so she can always have the ability to run it under her belt.  There’s been numerous occasions where she worked outside of rehearsal to perfect even the smallest issues that most people would overlook, but not her. She tries everything she can to help us understand and accomplish what she is trying to teach and I truly have learned so much from her. 

She is fun loving and cheerful, which is something that lifts a lot of people’s spirits at the end of the day. Her optimism and sense of humor makes a long rehearsal so much less stressful and it only helps to further build the safe space she has made for all of us within the walls of the theater. She’s funny and is never afraid to treat us like adults and joke around with us. She treats all of us like one of her own and is never afraid to show it through an affectionate lecture or a warm hug. She’ll put up with all of our shenanigans and always correct us and forgive us when we take things too far. But I can always still see her trying to hold back a smile at our antics.  

Most importantly, she’s infinitely kind and supportive. 

Oftentimes I think when people feel lost, unsure and stressed, kindness can be found in the most unexpected of times and places and often from people who we take for granted. So when I think of Mrs. Markano, I think back to my freshman year of high school, which was a confusing and rough time for me mentally and physically. 

I was extremely low on confidence in myself and who I was meant to be. Joining stage crew and auditioning for Drama Department plays started out as something I did just because I needed something to busy myself with. However, even just a few months into working with her and the rest of Stage Crew, I began to feel better about myself and find some joy in what I was doing.  

I can recall a certain moment after a performance when I was helping the crew dismantle the set. I was unsure of how to help and felt pretty useless, and at some point, when I was asked to work with a fragile and heavy piece of equipment, I joked about how I would “probably drop it and make a mess”. But seemingly out of nowhere, Mrs. Markano paused at my offhanded comment, and a brief look of sadness flashed across her face,

“Oh don’t say that! You’ve got it!” she said with a smile and chuckle.  

Maybe some others wouldn’t have found that moment too significant, but it mattered so much to me; to know that she had utter belief and confidence in me to handle something like that. It was something I really needed to hear at that moment. 

She probably would never recall that specific moment simply because kindness comes to her so naturally. I still see it on a daily basis whenever I’m in a show of hers, as an actor or a stage crew member, the care she puts into not only her show, but her students as well. If ever there is a fleeting moment where one of her students is feeling down on themselves or their work, she’s there to rectify this with words of encouragement and compassion, and undoubtedly, every single one of her students feels even just a little bit better after talking with her. Her support and thoughtfulness means more to us than she could ever know. 

And I know that I’m not the only one who cares for her this way. Ask almost any student in the Arrowhead’s Drama Department and they’ll say many of the same things I’ve already said. She’s changed so many lives just by being her kind, hardworking, funny, and amazing self. I think we’re all better as actors and people because of her and her support, and for that, I will always be grateful to have a wonderful teacher and director like her in my life.