Mr. Standridge,

The day before sophomore year, I showed my older brother my schedule and asked about the teachers I would be having for the upcoming year. He knew most of them, and gave varying reviews of their teaching abilities and general affect. Of you, he told me “I never had him, but I’ve heard he’s like, super smart”. He was absolutely right, but you’ve made an impact on me for a different reason.

Near the beginning of that year, I showed a friend a piece of music I had written that summer. She liked it so much she showed it to you, and I still haven’t forgotten what you said after listening to it. “Are you going to college for piano?” I had spent my time in school up to that point with an implicit understanding that I would be doing STEM in college, and no one had suggested otherwise. It was your words that propelled me to make a portfolio for piano auditions, and it is those same words that are, two years later, the reason I’m going to continue piano seriously in college. I was, obviously, really bummed that you weren’t gonna be at school my junior year, but was equally delighted when I learned that you’d be back for my senior year.

Your enthusiasm for the work that my peers and I created in that class always felt genuine, and your ability to draw out such creativity from us still astounds me. Your pedagogy was only ever enhanced by your ability to relate to students. Sincerely, you have left a very profound impact on me through all of our interactions over the years, about academics or not, and I envy any student who has the fortune of getting to learn from you and getting to know you for the first time again.

Thank you for everything.

Sincerely,

Milo