LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Julia Maloney was nominated by an anonymous student.

"Mrs. Maloney was truly a LifeChanger in my life. I am now a junior in high school, but I still remember the patience, kindness, and compassion that Mrs. Maloney expressed to her students in 8th grade," said her nominator. "She was always there for us, whether we needed help with a difficult math question, or if my friends and I were having trouble with other friends. She was a pillar of support for me, in particular, because I had trouble with having confidence on tests and learning the material. I'd come up to her with silly questions or things that she went over several times, but I just needed that extra boost. Her tests were always fair but also challenging, which really helped students in our accelerated scholars program."

Mrs. Maloney is serious when she has to be, but is witty during class to make it interesting. She cracks jokes with her students and gives them silly nicknames. Sometimes, they include her in our inside jokes so when another teacher or student comes in, they'd mention it and all crack up. Overall, her classroom is a great environment to be in on a daily basis.

"I'd say the majority of students aced the end of year state regent. Even if we didn't, we knew it wasn't any fault of Mrs. Maloney," said her nominator. "She felt like your friend, not just a teacher who clocks in and clocks out. Helping out with decorating her room for the holidays made us feel included, special, and calm. I remember one time, she let us play songs to dance around to, like we were all a group of buddies. I'd say she has helped many students learn to love math, learn how to develop relationships with one another, and appreciate education for all it can do for us. She talked to us candidly about schooling and the world outside of middle school to prepare us for what lies ahead."

"Our school had 85 percent of all students pass the Algebra I regent, in contrast to just 22 percent in NYC. I'd owe our success to her," her nominator concluded.