Congratulations to
National Teaching Award Nominee
David Godd
Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Student Nomination Story
I graduated from MASH in 2011, and Mr. Goss was the one, and the only teacher who I feel I made a connection with that would last a lifetime. It’s been a long time, but time gets away from you sometimes, and I should have done this a long time ago. My attitude was like most students dreading the classes that you sit there every day and listen to a lecture after lecture. Yet when it came to the classes with Mr. Goss, he made it enjoyable and allowed students to grow and inspired them to try things. You think after having all these other teachers that they are all the same and that it’s just another class, but Mr. Goss was not the same as other teachers. Even though it was a challenge for most students, the method of his teaching made it so everyone could understand and learn. I tried to get in as many of his classes that the school would allow because it would be a break from the usual boring classes. Even during study halls, I would go to his classroom because it was a place where the atmosphere wasn’t so tense. I honestly do not know where to start here due to all the years I was in his class. I even took multiple classes that he taught at the same time to expand my knowledge in the various things he taught. Mr. Goss enabled me to take classes that did not even exist at the time, but he found a way to allow me to continue that path. At the time, there were only two years of Mechanical drawing, which I took in 9th grade then in 10th grade. I then asked him if there was any way I could take it in 11th grade, and he made it happen then in 12th the same thing. He created a whole class just for me so I could continue the work that I was doing. Looking back on this, not many teachers would have found a way to do this for a student. One of the best memories was when he was not in school for a few days, and there was a substitute teacher. He gave the sub a note stating if anyone needed help, they could ask me due to the knowledge I had over the previous years of being in his class. It was an honor that he trusted me to help other students succeed as he helped me all those years. Another memory is all the projects that I did that he ended up putting in the showcase or hanging on the wall. It is an honor when a teacher recognizes your work and the effort that you put into it. Many memories were lost due to it being so long ago when I was in his class. I am very grateful because, without Mr. Goss, I would not have taken the path in college that I did. He wrote many recommendation letters to various colleges, and that set me on the road that I am on today. Even though it has been almost eight long years since I graduated from high school, I still think about the times that I had in Mr. Goss’s classroom. I know he has changed the lives of many students through the years and will continue to as long as he is a teacher.
Justin Nguyen
To see more exceptional teacher nominees, visit The Honor Roll.