Appy,

From the time that I was born, you had a helping hand in shaping me into who I am today. You and Mimi were there for me for everything, from the moment I was born, to spending weekends at your house, waking up and having coffee and Oreos for breakfast and watching Wild Wild West on the TV. Some of my fondest memories involve my time with you.

However, that is not the greatest effect you have had on me. I have you to thank for helping me onto the career path that I'm on today. Education has always been a love of mine, and you were a part of that. When I was a little girl, and you would come home from teaching all day, you would sit me on your lap, talking to me as an adult, and you would let me play with the pens in your shirt pocket. I can't even count the number of your good work pens I ended up losing in your couch, but every time, you would let me pull them out again.

When I grew older and reached the age where I could go to school, on the weekends when I would come to your house, you would have me bring my books and let me read to you. You would sit me at the dining room table and help me with my English and math homework, and you would teach me all sorts of life lessons as well. It is through these simple actions that my love for education flourished. Having a grandfather who also happened to be an amazing teacher had more of an impact on me than you could ever imagine. Your time teaching taught you how to be patient with your students, and to listen to what they had to say. You, in turn, used these same lessons on me, and I have learned how I want to treat my students in the future.

I learned from you that being a teacher means putting your students first. It means having a passion for making a difference in young lives, even after you've had a rough day with them. It means instilling the knowledge you have unto your students and hoping that they take that into the world and spread that same knowledge themselves. It means leaving your students with the means to make the world a better place.

It took me some time to get to where I am today, and I had bumps along the way, but it is through your guidance through my 20 years of life that I realized teaching was my calling. So Appy, thank you for being an amazing teacher, and an even more amazing grandfather.