The other day someone posted a question on Facebook "If you could go back to high school for one day, would you?" My husband mocked me when my answer was "Heck yes, I would!"

Call me a weirdo, but I was one of those people who LOVED my high school experience. Sure, it had its ups and downs, heartbreaks and petty drama, but overall it gave me the chance to do SO many cool things. Those are the memories I keep close to my heart 15 years after graduation. They're moments I got to experience because of educators who truly cared about their students. They went the extra mile to foster our interests and challenge us to be better, both in the classroom and as young adults.

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Without two of those teachers, I know there's no way that I would be who I am today. I don't know if I can ever adequately put into words how thankful I am for Mr. Sullivan and  Coach Gorski.

Michelle Heart, Townsquare Media
Michelle Heart, Townsquare Media
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Mr. Sullivan was my middle school shop teacher and the advisor for our school's television crew. He happened to be moving to the high school the same year that I was to teach television production. I really enjoyed being part of the behind the scenes team on the morning announcements, so he encouraged me to take his class my freshman year. I did and that's where my true love of broadcasting was born. He threw me into every role in the studio: playback, graphics, camera, copy writing and editing, audio, teleprompter and most importantly, directing. I fell in LOVE with directing and it meant so much to me that when his wife went into labor and he couldn't be there for the live broadcast of a debate for those running for township trustee and county commissioner, he trusted me to run the broadcast. Mr. Sullivan wanted me to take every opportunity that I could, so he encouraged me to take part in the high school radio internship program with a cluster in our hometown going into senior year. I never thought I'd be interested in radio and quite honestly, because I was so shy, I almost quite after day one. He reinforced to my parents that this was good for me, so I stuck with it. By the end of the summer, I knew I had found my path. Radio was now THE goal. I'm not here with you in Boise if it weren't for Mr. Sullivan.

Michelle Heart, Townsquare Media
Michelle Heart, Townsquare Media
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Coach Gorski was my high school track coach. I adored her not only because she spent an equal amount of time with every girl on our team. It didn't matter if you were a state caliber athlete or the slowest girl on the team. You mattered to Coach G. Your goals and reaching them were important to Coach G. And she taught you, above everything else, to respect your teammates and competitors. One of the ways of showing that was to maintain eye contact with the person speaking. She drilled that into us and it's a lesson that's served me well in my career.

I'm not who I am today without these two teachers. I may have not grown up here, but extraordinary teachers like this exist all over the country including here in the Treasure Valley. Which teachers had an impact on your life? These are 18 of them that you took the time to recognize!

18 Treasure Valley Teachers That Made a Difference

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