LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Jacque Jurewicz was nominated by an anonymous student.

"Every year of high school, I stress about taking science classes," said the student. "I am always scared because I don't know what to take, and I am afraid of getting a teacher that people say is strict. During my first semester of sophomore year at Arrowhead, I saw a name on my schedule that I had never seen: Mrs. Jurewicz. I hoped Mrs. Jurewicz taught well because I didn't want to get stuck with a bad teacher."

"The bell sounded, and it was time for ¾ period. I couldn't find Mrs. Jurewicz's classroom, so I thought this might be a bad sign. I took a seat and waited for people to pour in. I noticed my class was pretty good in terms of people I know. We started class, and I was interested because of her personality. It was bright and welcoming. She expressed that she loved everyone in her classroom. We started to refer to her as Mrs. J," said the student.

"The first couple weeks of the semester were rocky, and I realized I needed to apply myself more. I failed to work in Mrs. Jurewicz's class and almost gave up. Mrs. Jurewicz noticed this issue. She understood if you needed a break and let you take time off to focus on yourself, which showed her dedication to let us take mental health as a priority. Anytime we struggled in a lab, Mrs. Jurewicz took us through it and did not leave us at a bad checkpoint. I could see she only wanted the best for her students. Anytime I thought about quitting, she did not let this happen. When doing labs, many science teachers used it as time to get emails sent or put grades in; however, Mrs. J would be active and around the classroom answering questions and helping," said the student.

"So, semester two came, and I wasn't in her class. It disappointed me, but there was nothing I could do, and I had to accept it. Now coming junior year, I got excited to see I had Mrs. J as my science teacher for forensic science. I've always been interested in this subject, so seeing it in my schedule was nice. I hadn't seen her in so long, so it got me nervous, but it made me less anxious about school. She can brighten me up without even being with her," said the student.

"The first day of school came up, and they are always the longest days. I have reached my last period and want to get out. I said hi to Mrs. J, and she waved back and acted like before. Just being in her presence gave me a boost in my mood," said the student. "Mrs. J is the most ecstatic, caring, and fun teacher I've had."