History is intriguing to me. I have been a good social studies student because I enjoy it so much. I knew the first day I walked into Mrs. Casetta’s class, it would be no different. Mrs. Casetta was outgoing her first day, even with a classroom full of fresh faces. She wasn’t worried or embarrassed about being herself. Instead, she just wanted everyone to know they could have fun in her class. That’s what she expected.

Mrs. Casetta has the loudest voice, naturally. It would be impossible to fall asleep in her class. She brought a lot of excitement and emotion into her classes. She liked to relate lessons to personal stories. She found a way to make her students laugh, no matter what kind of a day they were having. It wasn’t hard to notice how much Mrs. Casetta loved her job. From the moment I walked into her classroom and saw her sitting at her desk with a big smile on her face, I knew it was going to be a good afternoon. She had a booming laugh that was so contagious, it would make everyone else laugh.

Mrs. Casetta wasn’t only my teacher, but she was also my friend. Mrs. Casetta always cared about my feelings and what was going on in my life. She was someone who was easy to talk to because we shared so much in common. Mrs. Casetta attended the same high school I do and she was also on the pom pon squad, just like I am. She knew from the time she was young that she wanted to be a teacher and I share the same dream. My major next year is Elementary Education and she persuaded me to keep reaching for my dream.

I spent every fifth hour study hall going to Mrs. Casetta’s room. We would talk about life. She would help me study for my test, and we would laugh. She allowed my friend, Calvin, to bring in his old school Pacman and she got into the game. She actually beat all of us at the game. That goes to show no matter how old you are, there’s always some kid left inside of you.
Mrs. Casetta is someone I still go and visit weekly. We talk about my life, my future, and anything else interesting. It is nice to have someone, other than a friend, to share so much in common with. She understood what I was going through because she had once gone through it herself. Mrs. Casetta helped me to become a stronger person.

As I’m preparing to graduate this year, I am sad I won’t be able to make my weekly visits. Whenever I have break, I am going to come back and visit her. I will make sure to keep in contact with her over email. Whenever I need advice, I know who I’m going to turn to.
She never put herself before any of her students. She’s an amazing teacher and friend, and this is why I am nominating Sue Casetta for the Education of the Year Award.