- I actually literally broke down in class
and start crying and she was there right beside me.
And that's when I knew for me,
this was more than a professor.
My name is Michael, I'm from Berkeley, California.
- I'm Mandy and I wrote a letter
to my former high school history teacher.
- My name is Recall, I'm from Orlando, Florida.
I am a high school senior,
who's about to graduate .
- I'm a rising fourth year
at the University of California, Berkeley.
- I'm writing this letter to my teacher, Mrs. Austin.
- I wrote my letter to Professor Hall.
- He was a mentor to me, a fantastic teacher
and taught me a lot of life lessons
that I will never forget.
- I feel like she helped me so much,
overcome a lot of the depression I was feeling.
- On my first day of my junior year class.
She came up to me and she said that,
she's going to be my biggest fan this year.
And I realized that, she was a different teacher
from any of the other ones I've had before.
- Teachers worked so hard, they work so
hard and they care so much about every student,
but students are on sort of this trajectory
and they're often more focused on getting out.
- She calls me Queen and she says that,
a queen is never discouraged
and a queen shouldn't feel down all the time.
- Here's my letter, It's on my computer,
a page and a half long.
- So this is the letter, that I wrote for Mr. Johnson.
- This is letter.
- [Professor Hall] Hi Michael.
- Oh, wow.
- [Mrs.Austin] How are you baby?
- Wow, this is crazy.
- So I wrote you a letter.
- Mr. Johnson, I actually wrote you a letter.
- Because I appreciate you a lot.
And I just wanted you to know that.
- I didn't know what I wanted to do.
I was like, you have to be in med school.
You have to be in business school.
- Right.
Like, when I stepped into your theater class,
I was debating whether I was going to take the course
and I was like Michael,
you need to do something creative.
And once I did that,
I felt like a whole new light,
in me just like open so I'm so thankful for that.
- [Recall] Hi there Mrs. Austin.
Although my time at Oxford has come to an end,
I just wanted to thank you
for being such an amazing teacher.
I don't think you truly know
how much of impact you've had on my life.
- Life has a funny way of revealing your destiny
because even while a mad cow,
a friend of mine recommended your acting class to me.
- You've inspired me to not only become a better writer,
but a better person.
You were one of the few reasons
why I really love to go to school every day.
- Regardless, it is rare I complete a project
or consider my next steps.
Without utilizing the skills and lessons
that you taught me as my teacher.
- You've become like a role model to me
and it would be such an honor for me
if I ever grew up to be just as wonderful as you are.
- You gave me hope, you gave me determination.
You reinvigorated the dream
that had once been alive in my head.
It's as if the the light bulb that had been blown
out finally got replaced and with the new ones.
- I remember when I first met you,
you told me that you're my biggest fan.
And of course, I thought it was a joke
because you didn't even know me that well.
But today, I know that you were not joking at all.
- I didn't feel like I fit in
with any particular friend group.
I was taking way more classes
than I could reasonably balance.
- I still remember how after performing my monologue
about racial and justice since
I've been dirt at the university,
you and the rest of class were there to come for me.
This was the type of support,
I never knew existed on campus.
- Thank you for always trying to come to,
my performances or award ceremonies
just to cheer me on.
You're the only teacher I know who would drive
an hour away to eat on village
just to seem to recite hold call for two minutes.
- And, feeling like making a single mistake
was just completely
out of the question.
But while I was in your class,
I could focus on just one thing
and ignore all the other stresses that were in my life.
- [Michael] Being your class taught me that wherever I go,
my passion comes first.
Acting is no longer something I yearned to do.
It is something I'm actively doing.
- [Mandy] Since being your student,
I've never met an adult with so much faith in young people.
As a young adult now,
I found the most challenging dynamic
to establish with people is that trust.
- Not only being my teacher,
but being my mentor,
Counselor, or second mom.
- wherever I go in life,
I will always think about how
your class was the confirmation for me
that this is what I'm supposed to be doing.
- I'm going to miss you so much,
and I love you.
- I appreciate your guidance and mentorship
more than you will ever know.
Thank you so much for being
the best teacher ever, Mr. Johnson.
- This is my purpose.
Thank you for being a part of that.
- Thank you.
Are you gonna make me cry?
- No, don't cry, because I'm a cry too, thank you.
I really appreciate you.
- Oh my god
- [Mr. Johnson] I tell you what,
when I'm surrounded by people like you,
everything is possible.
- I know, African American,
it's so hard to go to a major institution
and study the art.
Because, it's all these expectations
of what you're supposed to be.
- You know, I'm here to support you
in any way that you need.
- You know, I'm always there for you.
So, you call me, let me know
your needs, I'll be there.
- I hope you send that to me so I can put up on my wall.
If ever have a bad day at school
or whatever I'm gonna look at and be like, aah, okay.