To Mrs. McCune—the kindest and most accepting person I’ve ever known.

I know that you probably get this a lot, but I don’t know anyone else that could be more positive and welcoming. From being a freshman in NAHS to a senior in your Printmaking II class, all of the time I’ve been able to spend with and around you has been amazing. I was a very anxious and unconfident freshman, and you’ve made me feel welcome at NAHS and have inspired me to be more outgoing and friendly since. You were always helping people and lifting them up, and I wanted to be like that. It’s been a journey for me to get out of my comfort zone, but you inadvertently helped me realize that being more outgoing makes me a lot more happy than sitting alone in every class. I actually talk to people now at NAHS, after three years, instead of sitting there and drawing alone. I’m starting to price my art properly, instead of underselling myself in the fear that nothing will sell. And I’ve discovered the joy in serving others, too. I love helping people and making them feel at home, and I’ve taken inspiration from the way that you treat everyone here at school. I see people open up whenever you take the time to give them individual attention when most people leave them alone in class. As one of those kids that used to be deathly afraid of rejection to the point of crippling anxiety, I know how much it means to them. In my opinion, you’re the perfect person for that. When that sort of anxiety is met with the amount of positivity and kindness that you provide and carry with you, people like them become people like me. They realize that people aren’t so bad after all, and that it’s worth it to try new things out. The world is so much more beautiful in those eyes.

Thank you so much for everything (being you), Sydney Ross