Forrest Fankhauser

The biggest gift Inspire gave me was the inspiration of my dedicated (and sometimes quirky) teachers. People often ask me about Inspire, not understanding what it has to offer me.

I always tell them that we have the best instructional staff. In Math 3, Mrs. Reynolds taught beyond the material covered in the textbook. While teaching about polynomials, she also taught me about the deeper structures and intricacies behind mathematics. I can still remember her insistence on perfection when I take math tests today. More importantly, when she taught us about exponentials, she also taught us about life. I will never forget curve-fitting an exponential curve to her pregnancy hormones! And today, her lessons on exponential graphs helps me read the news with a critical eye, when suddenly y=e^x is crucial to public health and safety!

Speaking of health, in Biology, Mrs. Olson introduced us to the world inside our own bodies. Four years later, I still remember what she told us about how soaps can tear apart fats (like viruses), now inspiring me to wash my hands aggressively.

In Spanish 1, 2, and 3, Sra. Reid inspired me to continue learning Spanish in my free time. She helped me work past so many frustrating conjugations and grammar rules, but even better she exposed me to a new culture and perspective. Discussions in her classes helped me open up – even though I used to be shy. Once I reached AP Spanish with Sr. Isern, I realized that I had become a completely new person through Spanish. I feel more extroverted and out-going in my new second language, even willing to trip over my tongue trying to talk to a native speaker.

Mrs. de la Torre’s challenging AP US History was made possible by her passion for teaching. I was shocked to have aced the AP test under her wing, despite missing a month of school due to the Camp Fire. She helped me see a complete view of American History, giving me a deeper appreciation for civil rights and the context I needed to succeed this year in Government.

And once I had somewhat outgrown Inspire’s math and science classes, our counselors and the whole office staff helped me pursue my goals. They allowed me to follow my education at Chico State, where I was happily surprised that my teachers had prepared me wonderfully for college. The transition was smooth and often the workload was easy in comparison to the standards at Inspire.