Ever since high school started, I waited for that bell to ring and, each bell had me even more excited for the end of the day to come. Unlike some kids, I never enjoyed school. Middle school wasn’t terrible, but high school was. I spent days going into each classroom wishing there’d be a substitute teacher sitting in the teacher’s desk waiting for the students to arrive--that is, until I had Ms. Jurewicz as a science teacher my sophomore and junior years.

Ms. Jurewicz isn’t an average teacher. In fact, she’s more like another student. She isn’t just relaxed, laid back, and enthusiastic, but she’s actually cool and totally relatable. She understands what it’s like to be a teenager and a student. Ms. J’s the one teacher any student feels comfortable going to (even with their deepest, darkest secrets). She reminds me of  Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus.
I never knew someone could care so much about biology and science and still be so normal, until I took Ms. J’s biology class sophomore year.
Biology is not my thing. Learning about plants, cells, and photosynthesis makes me wonder why I show up to school. Except, Ms. J took biology to another level. Instead of staying in a lame classroom for a whole semester, we went outside, we watched videos, and we even conducted serious labs (like dissecting a cow’s eye). During one of our trips outside, my friend and I ate some colorful berries off a tree just to see if it matched the description of a tree we had to find on a scavenger hunt. Instead of being mad (like every other teacher in this world would’ve been), Ms. J made a joke out of it (after making sure we weren’t poisoned of course). Ms. J made class feel like home and brought out each and every student's inner biologist.

After having Ms. J once, I knew I had to take another one of her classes again before I graduated. I signed up for forensic science, not having a clue what it’d be like but just knowing i’d absolutely love it with Ms. J teaching. And my hypothesis was right. I loved forensics. Not only did I learn about blood types, blood spatter, and fingerprints, but I also learned how to analyze a crime scene. Not only was the course interesting, but I had Ms. J, and she made the class come together. By the end of the semester, I could honestly say I felt like every student in forensics was my friend (and this was thanks to Ms. J bringing everyone together as a team).

Not only does Ms. J dominate her job, but she also teaches each and every student how to dominate their futures and Ms. J provides all the help anybody would need to succeed. I can now successfully say I have gained a special love for forensic science and will pursue that in my future. Biology still hasn’t become my thing, but I do now have a special type of respect for the study and other fellow biologists. Thank you Ms. J, for just being you and for making my high school experience a little less sluggish.