Thai tea—that is what Ms. Kuso is.

It is not just because she makes the best Thai tea known to mankind, but rather the similarities the drink has with the astounding APES and chemistry teacher.

Sweetness:

   One cannot describe how sweet Ms. Kuso is towards her students, whether past or present. No matter the subject—chemistry, environmental science, personal problems, or simply casual chit chatting—she takes the time to help her students gain a better understanding of life in a kind and helpful manner. It goes beyond the classroom with her as she does try to understand a student’s mindset in the classroom and attempts to get to know each student individually about their personality and their activities. It is very rare to find a teacher like her; she offers sweet treats and drinks and is always smiling, even if tired out due to the piles of work she must do.

Vibrant and Hardworking Personality:

   The spirited, deep shade of orange that the drink represents is a reflection of the lively personality Ms. Kuso exhibits. Not only does she get excited about teaching her students, but her smile and happy nature also express a desire to learn for her students and encourages her students to commit to her lessons; they make the students want to learn. One can see her excitement and love for chemistry and her desire to learn more about environmental science. The dedication it takes to make the Thai tea is also similar to the dedication Ms. Kuso has. She has even sacrificed her love for chemistry in order to help with the large increase of APES students this past year. Her determined nature is seen with her detailed organization and her effort to pay attention to lectures and write down her own notes. Everything Ms. Kuso does, one can see that she puts in all of her time and effort in order to be her best self for her class. And even with all of the paperwork, the grading, and the lack of sleep, she still manages to make her entire class laugh with her creative jokes and jabs, manages to smile and yell out a “Good morning!” or “Good afternoon!” on a daily basis, and manages to leave out special goodies and demonstrate cool experiments to her students.

For the one particular student that is writing this, Ms. Kuso can be seen as a role model to her and is the someone who the young teenager appreciates more than anybody else in the school.

In the perspective of Trinity:

   Ms. Kuso is someone I can easily converse with. No matter the topic, Ms. Kuso seemingly seems to understand the daily stress of tests and homework and is always willing to lend an ear to a couple of rants and random questions. I love and appreciate that. It is comforting for me to see a teacher that understands her students, while at the same time tries to educate them about life and its difficulties. Whenever I feel down, I know that talking to or helping Ms. Kuso will always cheer me up due to the warm environment that is her classroom and due to Ms. Kuso’s understanding and helpful personality. A little secret is that in Common App when asked to pick an answer to a security question of “Who is your favorite teacher?”, I immediately typed in Ms. Kuso’s name. It was as simple as that.

She is a rare and unique type of teacher in all of the best ways. There is nobody else that deserves more appreciation and happiness than Ms. Kuso due to all of the hard work and dedication she puts into her teaching and her students every single day.

-Trinity Chhay, 12, Pow Wow, Editor in Chief