Teachers are the backbone of our society and make the biggest impact on our lives. We all have stories of bad teachers who trashed our confidence that we’ll never forget, but a good teacher’s presence transcends the classroom. A good teacher understands students’ struggles and fosters a comforting classroom environment. In the back corner of R hallway, Ms. Sweitzer’s room is a welcoming space for students to learn and interact with each other. Though I never had Ms. Sweitzer, she was always inviting and let me stay in her room, and while I waited for my friend to finish getting help, I got to hear about some senior’s prom date gone wrong with a gang member. 

          Aside from that, I don’t know a lot about Ms. Sweitzer personally. However, almost all the students I know that have had Ms. Sweitzer cite her as a positive educator who enhanced their learning experience: ”Ms. Sweitzer helped me alot emotionally through a rough patch in my life; she’s like a second mom to me,” said an anonymous student. Another student says,”I was literally failing her class, but Ms. Sweitzer was so accommodating and met with me after school every late bus day to help.” Ms. Sweitzer has an avid sense of humor. Alina Rashid, 12, recalls her saying,“We can use strippers to find the solution to this problem” when teaching her pre-calculus class about trigonometry. 

          Ms. Sweitzer grew up in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and attended Penn State University for college. Teaching has always been Ms. Sweitzer’s passion, and she knew from the start that she wanted to go into education. In high school, math was one of the main subjects Ms. Sweitzer studied. She would submerge herself into problems, trying to find the solution. Ms. Sweitzer remarks, “I like puzzles, and mathematics is often like a puzzle.” 

          Ms. Sweitzer has taught algebra I, geometry, discrete math, and precalculus with trigonometry. Ms. Sweitzer prides herself on finding effective ways of teaching math to her students. She wants to help make math less scary for her students, especially for those who struggle with it. Ms. Sweitzer’s advice for students at Westfield is to be okay with making mistakes and to learn from them: “Don’t forget to have fun and take the time to find what makes you happy.”