To some students on campus, Mrs. Mynster is another teacher who has built a reputation for her notoriously difficult classes. But to most students, she is more than that.

Within the first three days of school, Mrs. Mynster would have already memorized every student’s name on the roster. Then, she would put her knowledge to the test by offering to name the whole class, prompting her students to—consciously or subconsciously—hitch their breaths. This was quite a Herculean task, after all. But Mrs. Mynster would complete it gracefully and effortlessly. With each name being called out correctly, a sigh of relief could be heard, accompanied by a small smile. Though this was not some grand gesture, it meant the world to some students because they were recognized and acknowledged through efforts made by Mrs. Mynster. This special feeling lingers even when students leave her classroom after a year of her guidance. She would still greet students by their names as she walks down the halls of S-Building, extending a smile in their way. Even during class, she would talk about her students from 10 years ago, expressing the care that she has for all of her students, previous and current.

Furthermore, one of the best parts of Mrs. Mynster’s classes are her storytimes, where she casually drops details of her impressive academic career, constantly leaving her students in a state of awe. From receiving the highest scores in the class on her lab reports to never having to pull an all-nighter in college, Mrs. Mynster constantly finds ways to bond with her students and keep them engaged, despite chemistry being such a difficult subject.

When teaching a chapter, Mrs. Mynster starts by passing out lecture notes, an impossibly thick packet filled with information to be taught for the chapter. Yet despite the sheer thickness of this daunting stack of examples and problems, the chapter’s lecture notes are completed in under three weeks. With her efficient lectures, Mrs. Mynster teaches the information in fashion that is both fast and easy to understand, followed by the onslaught of examples. However, she works through the examples impossibly quickly, stopping only to ask for calculations or to check for the understanding of basic concepts. Students are encouraged to follow along to score full points in participation, allowing her to breeze through the examples. To ensure her students’ comprehension, she utilizes a combination of quizzes and homework assignments, which although many students fear, ensures that they are prepared for the test.

Mrs. Mynster’s quizzes and tests may be difficult, but their difficulty is within reason. For Chemistry Honors, her tests and quizzes cover a majority of the information within what was taught, acting as a thorough comprehension check. It isn’t difficult to get good grades on them, as students only need to study a reasonable amount to get an ‘A’. As for AP Chemistry, her tests and quizzes are extremely difficult, as it is very difficult to get a perfect score on them. However, the test difficulty is scaled to the difficulty of the class, and they give an accurate simulation of how difficult the AP test is. As with Chemistry Honors, all the information on the test can be found in the lecture notes or in the required reading.

Despite the bumpy curriculum and the worrisome test scores, it is safe to say that Mrs. Mynster has left a positive impact on all her students. Her welcoming presence and extremely kind smile create a learning environment that allows her students to comfortably explore the realms of chemistry and beyond without apprehension. Her acknowledgement towards students’ individuality and efforts is reassurance to those under her guidance: that at the end of the day, no matter how daunting chemistry (or life) may be, Mrs. Mynster will always be there to help us. Thank you, Mrs. Mynster, for not only being a great teacher, but for really bonding with her students through all great chemistry puns.