The person I am most grateful for is my high school teacher, Ms. Virginia Panttaja.

I went into high school with no self-esteem whatsoever. This may be true for a lot of freshman, but, if there was a meter for self-esteem, I would not have even registered on the scale.

Ms. Pantaja was my Personal Development teacher my freshman year. This was a class that was being offered for the first time, and most people who took it were looking for an easy