Although May was Teacher Appreciation Month, this year’s seniors will not be able to show their appreciation for their teachers in person before they graduate due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So, here are some sentiments from the Class of 2020 about some of the teachers who impacted them during their time at Glenbrook North. Responses were edited for length and clarity.

Senior Allanah Elster, in a phone interview

One teacher that definitely stands out is Mr. Rubin, my TV Broadcasting teacher. Something Mr. Rubin did this year that was really funny: in January, I got into the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, which I never expected to happen. So, I contacted him immediately and told him about it. And then in class the next day, he made a poster for me and presented it to the class without telling me, which was really cute and funny.

Senior Matthew Sauser, in an email exchange

Mrs. Sheperd always made class super fun and interesting. She had a great personality and found the perfect balance between teaching and talking with us about our lives and things we were interested in. All of her lectures were super interesting, which is not always an easy task to accomplish.

Senior Theresa Burke, in a phone interview

I had Mme. Petrini-Poli junior and senior year. I had some health issues this year and I had to drop French, but she still let me come to class and sit in even though I wasn’t actually taking it, so I could still learn and participate as much as I could without having to worry about the grade and stuff like that. She’s just always there for students and she understands. She understood if the class was just having one of those days where we couldn’t really do anything, and she just took it easy and knew when to push us and when to relax.

Senior Maya Epstein, in an email exchange

I recently sent Mrs. Block, my Advanced Placement Art teacher, a photo of a drawing I had been working on for a couple of weeks that I had really been obsessing over. I was very concerned with every minor detail, so it got to the point where I was only seeing the negative aspects of my piece. However, when I sent Mrs. Block the photo, she wrote me back saying how much she loved it and that she was proud of me. At that moment, my view of my drawing completely changed because I felt like I had been validated for all of my hard work. Since I tend to be very critical of my work, it always helps to have Mrs. Block’s support and honest feedback.

Senior In Hyeok Oh, in a phone interview

You know when the school tells you, “Trust your teachers to talk to them about personal stuff,” or whatever? And you listen to that and you’re like, “Whatever,” but Ms. Cohen was an actual teacher that you really get close to and she almost feels like a parent at school. So, there were a number of times when I would seek her out after school just to talk about not even school stuff, but just personal stuff that was going on in my life, and she was super receptive and always listened and gave meaningful advice. I always felt bad because she has two kids, and I felt like I was holding her back from picking them up from school, but she’s that kind of a teacher that, like — this is cliche, but she actually cares about her students, you know. And people know that.

Senior Peyton Bernstein, in an email exchange

Mrs. Brosnan sacrificed her own time to help her students succeed, whether that meant coming to school early to meet in the MRC or hosting review sessions after school. Even though I wasn’t in Mrs. Brosnan’s class this year, we still maintained contact and she has been eager to reach out regarding my future plans, which I think speaks to her desire to be more than just a teacher.