Q: What was your first impression of Ms. Frank?

A: I first met her during Latin in my freshman year. I had Mr. D (Phil Dillinger) through Middle School and was pretty nervous for high school and what that would be like, but Ms. Frank is such a welcoming person. I really enjoyed the way she taught because she was super engaging, but also a really accepting person. Our entire class and her became so close right away in the first year. She’s a really funny person too. That class always made me smile and always made my day. 

Q: What are your favorite memories of Ms. Frank? 

A: I remember I was having a really hard time with family stuff, so I came into her room. I started crying and then she started crying when she saw me cry. To have someone cry from just seeing me cry showed this empathy that I hadn’t seen in any other person before. That was a really special moment for me. It showed me exactly the kind of person she was, which is a really empathetic, kind and caring person. I think for all of us, she was our safe space on campus. She was who we could all go to and just be ourselves and be completely accepted. We’d never have to be worried about being judged or hurt or anything like that. She’s a very strong person as well. She had a lot of battles that she was facing and she never wanted it to interfere with her teaching or with her caring for other students.

Reading Latin with her is one of my favorite memories. The way she would teach is just so engaging. If she’s extra passionate about what she’s teaching, she’ll have little fangirl moments where she’d fangirl over the author and what metaphor they’re using or something like that. It’s just super cool and so inspiring to see that much passion in her.

She gave me a book about Roman culture. Whenever I went to Latin states and regionals, I always used to take the Roman culture test, so she gave me one of her books about that. It was really sweet to have something to remember her by and that she even thought of me before she passed. It was sad not to be able to see her in person, so the book is a physical thing to remind me of her. 

1. How did Ms. Frank impact your life and the Latin community? 

1. All of her students always end up hanging out in her room, which is kind of crazy. She created this accepting environment where she let us be free to be ourselves. She is a kind and caring person and she created a family with all of us. For me the biggest thing is she let me be vulnerable. She does that for a lot of other students too. The way she fostered it was because of her demeanor, her kindness and her empathy and the way she cared for her students. She cared for her students more than I’ve ever seen a teacher care for her students. 

I think her impact on me is that she’s given me courage and hope. She has shown me that there are really good people in this world, even if they’re hard to find. She showed me that you keep moving forward, even when life is tough. I think that’s really important. Not a lot of kids can say that they’ve had a teacher like that. I just feel so honored to have been close with her and to have been her student because she’s such an amazing person. Whenever I’m sad or think her death is unfair, I think about how lucky I was that I’ve got to have known her. She’s always going to have a special place in my heart.