By now, if you are a parent of a Woodbury High School student, you will have found out the tragic and deeply saddening news that was discovered Wednesday morning by students.
Mr. Andrew Sommer, commonly known as "Senor Sommer" by his students, passed away from esophageal cancer. A beloved faculty member of Woodbury High School, Mr. Sommer dedicated his life not only to teaching...
But to being there for his students, of which I had the honor of being one of.
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Mr. Sommer was always bright, cheerful, and funny—he made the classroom not just an environment for learning and embracing Spanish culture, but one for building relationships and deeper bonds with his students that they will cherish for a life time. An amazing teacher, he was always supportive and deeply involved in the high school, especially in extracurricular activities such as "Be the Dream" as well as the Prom Committee, NHS, and S.A.D.D in the past.
I personally knew Mr. Sommer not only as a teacher, but I would like to say as a friend as well. Last year, he selected me to be the World Language student of the third trimester, and encouraged and helped me to test out of Spanish 2 over the summer.
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I have always had teachers who liked me, and enjoyed having me in their classroom, but no one has made me feel as loved and appreciated as a student like Senor Sommer did.
And teachers like that, like Mr. Sommer—they are one in a million. He was what brightened up his students' days and made them laugh and learn and have fun.
He gave us stories and memories that we will not only remember, but we will treasure for a lifetime. He has influenced us all to become better people—even just a 10th of the man that he was. Words cannot describe what this man has done for his students and for the school, and how deeply he touched the lives of others.
I am so thankful to have been apart of his class, and to be a student that was able to be close to him. I am even more thankful that I got to let him know how much I loved him before he passed away. I hope that other students were able to share this with him as well, and I'm positive that they have—it's been reflected in the giant card that we all signed, the gifts that we sent, the prayers for his safe recovery.
I know that when I originally wrote my Christmas list this year, I asked for a lot of things. But I know that I would give all that up and more just to spend another day in his classroom and talk to him.
