As humans, we can’t like everyone. It’s simply not possible. There will be numerous occasions in our lives when we will have to spend time with people whom we dislike. For me, teachers are the biggest offenders. It’s truly a monotonous process–they’ll assign me a task to do, and I’ll do it. Of course it’s not their fault, but that doesn’t change my emotion toward them. I don’t even get to choose my teachers, so why should I care? 

Mrs. Burkhart is the exception. She is the difference, the teacher that understands issues and actually cares about them. As a mom of many, she can very easily empathize with your insignificant troubles that seem to consume you for no reason at all. 

Mrs. Burkhart is an advisor for Arrowhead’s DECA chapter, grades 9-12. Formally, DECA is an association of marketing students that encourages the development of business and leadership skills through academic conferences and competitions, but it is really just a club where business tactics are applied to real world problems. Mrs. Burkhart oversees the process and assists students individually throughout the process. 

Being a new student at Arrowhead for the start of my junior year, I turned to sports and clubs as a way to meet new people. For me, clubs were very hit or miss. I quickly was able to find which ones to avoid simply based on the advisors. Many of them seemed uninterested and boring. Not once did any advisor ever come up to me and introduce themselves, but Mrs. Burkhart did. I quickly came to find out that she was in fact a new student at several different schools during her childhood, so she really understood me. 

It wasn’t until our trip to Atlanta for competition that I really knew the difference she made. She took the time to have real conversations, aside from DECA. It was rare that I would ever talk with a teacher about anything other than school, but it didn’t feel unusual. She made me feel like a part of Arrowhead. 

The relationship we grew is something that was new for me. The uniqueness is also part of the reason why it is so impactful for me. I would typically be seen avoiding teachers outside of school hours, hoping they didn’t recognize me. Undoubtedly, I would never see myself helping a teacher with yard work, but that changed as well. 

Her natural joy and sympathy for others is so visibly obvious that it would be difficult to not like her. She is always putting others before herself, and she actually cares. I know this might be surprising, but thank you Mrs. Burkhart, you changed my high school experience.