 Having a hashtag or a mission statement is really important as teachers for us to know why we teach. The reason I teach is so that my students can save the Republic. I realize that more than history in social studies we're teaching democracy and empowering students. I made it my mission to make sure that every single student understands that they are the makers of their own destiny. This gave Amy her spark in terms of making sure everybody would never feel like they were left out. She creates an environment like that where you can be vulnerable and authentic and real. Amy brings a force of community into a classroom to her students. I've heard people say about me, she doesn't just teach students about democracy, she has students do democracy. She's really thoughtful about how she brings community into the school and vice versa. You can't learn government out of a book. You have to learn about government and citizenship by actually doing it. So this class is about not just finding your voice, but making sure the world hears and listens to your voice. So we the people, it really is the love of my life. The purpose of that class is to teach young people like me their civic duty and their responsibilities as a citizen. They're studying the Constitution, but they make the leap to what's happening in their lives today. And that makes government real for students. The onus was on me as their teacher to bring to them the people that they needed to talk to. So I said, hey department, let's do a candidate form. It's completely student run. They plan it, they formulate it, they ask tough questions of candidates. Those questions that you put a candidate on the spot in a way that very few other forums do. If you're going to be on the school board and you can't answer a question from a student, you shouldn't be running here somewhere, I see. Because they have some good questions. Yes they do, they're terrifying sometimes. Miss Galloway's class is the reason I live the life I live now. I wouldn't be where I am now if I hadn't been in her class. And when students tell me that I remind them of Amy, it's like the best thing that's ever happened to me. You know, it's just because of her and her dedication and the community around me as well that really strengthened me into become a more confident person. She always has this phrase where she says that her students are saving the Republic. I think she's doing that more than any of us just by fostering all these students who go out into the world and make a difference. And we're enabled and empowered to do that because of her work. I couldn't thank her enough for that.