Honestly, English is probably my weakest subject. As I always put it, “I ain’t no good at that grammar thing.” I was below the curve when it came to my skills in English; however, my sophomore year, that all change. I began to understand grammar rules. And these changes took place because of one wonderful teacher: Rayne Singletary.



Ms. Singletary was the breath of fresh air that drab old English needed. “Life is more interesting with a little sauce,” is a mantra of my personal educator of a lifetime. From day one of sophomore English, I could tell I was going to be particularly fond of Ms. S; she introduced herself as a nerd and used the phrase, “lame-sauce.”
Quickly, I learned she loved theatre, and we bonded over this similarity. The bond I had with her allowed for a personal learning experience, and it also motivated me to try harder in the dreaded English. The last thing I wanted was to let down Ms. Singletary.

Throughout the course of the year, Ms. Singletary ensured she was available to aid with my essay writing and grammar, and with a little hard work and dedication, I was finally able to write grammatically correct essays. In fact, she still is willing to make time to help me with my essays today, even though I no longer have her as a teacher.
Ms. Singletary’s dedication didn’t only help me excel in the areas of English that I struggled, but it also pushed me to give my all even to the parts of English that came easily to me. A personal strength of mine is public speaking, so I was ecstatic when I learned speeches made up a large portion of my grade; I thought hey easy A.
But oh boy was I wrong, because Ms. S graded on the philosophy of personal ability and she knew that an avid theatre kid like me was capable of much more than my meekly prepared for speeches. So, although I had some of the best speeches in the class, I would always end up with a B. “I know you could do better,” she always would reply. I thought I deserved an A, but in truth, I knew I didn’t.

By the end of the year, her persistence persuaded me to actually give the necessary effort in my speeches, and I did. Although the whole concept annoyed me at the time, Ms. Singletary taught me a valuable lesson about work ethic, and it’s one I won’t soon forget.
It is for her wonderful sense of humor, remarkable dedication, quirky sayings, and passion, that I nominate Ms. Singletary for this award. Ms. Singletary impacted my life that year in way that she will never truly understand; she helped me improve not only my weaknesses, but also my strengths. Today I can write a decent essay, the first time, and I have Ms. Singletary to thank for that.