Marilyn Markano looks like an average theatre teacher. She resembles Ms. Darbus from High School Musical (which is like, totally awesome). And yes, almost all high school teachers care about their students, but Markano was special, she tried to make a more intimate connection with all of her students. And this is a woman who teaches grade 10 English, Advanced Speech, and Acting, while being in charge of stage crew and being the head of the drama department.  Now, I’m not writing this just because she has made an impact on only me, but my fellow peers as well.

A student in my advanced speech class did an informative speech about the dangers of underage drinking. His story was about some random kid with a random name. At the end of his speech, he admitted the random kid was himself. After class, Mrs. Markano called him over to his desk and asked if he was okay, how he is doing now, and if he needs any help.

I had her for two classes in one semester: Acting and Advanced Speech. I was taking Acting for my last fine art credit (and also because I am the worst at art) and Advanced Speech for an extra English credit, and I thought I would be good at it. Wow, did my perspective change.

On the first day of acting, Mrs. Markano made us feel dumb. Like, really dumb. We were playing theatre games that were really silly. The class had no idea what the point of it was, but I learned that it’s to make us feel more comfortable with each other. And it worked.

Advanced Speech was going to be a breeze, or so I thought. I competed on the Arrowhead Forensics team. But forensics competitions and giving a speech to your classmates are two different worlds. My anxiety got the best of me. I would fake sick on days I had to present. On the days my mom made me go to school when I had a speech, I would have a panic attack.

My mom made me go talk to her after class one day, which was something I dreaded. I didn’t know her too well and I thought she wouldn’t care about my situation. But, she did. I told her I felt stupid that I am a state champion in forensics and went to nationals for speech, and I can’t even give a five minute speech to a class.

She said, “That’s completely okay! They are different situations. I understand.” And to top it off, to show she really cared, she even gave me a hug, which meant a lot to me.

If it wasn’t for Mrs. Markano, I wouldn’t have been so open and outgoing in acting class. If it wasn’t for Mrs. Markano, I would have backed out on my advanced speech final to the class. If it wasn’t for Mrs. Markano, I wouldn’t be looking at school with a Comedic Arts degree.