Math.

Doug Miller taught my Algebra II class at Greencastle High School. Everything rode on my grade in his class. Everything. I hated math, despised it, but I had to get an A in that class or I would lose my 4.0 GPA, lose a lot of scholarship money, and not be able to afford to go to college out of state. Getting out of Indiana, away from everyone who knew me, to come out, felt (and I think actually was) necessary.

Mr. Miller was the coach of something, I don't know what sport, I didn't pay attention to that stuff. All my high school math teachers were coaches, as well as my Civics teacher. As a rule, the coaches were terrible teachers, and all of these teachers were, except Mr. Miller, who was kind and patient and able to explain difficult abstract concepts in a way that made them clear and obvious. Which is to say, he knew how to teach.

If I didn’t get an A on the final exam, I would get a B in the class, it was that simple, and Mr. Miller made sure I was prepared.

Usually when I think of the many remarkable teachers I've had over the course of my life, they're art or music or theater, or literature or history teachers, because those are the subjects I’ve always loved and that I naturally excelled at in school. But I'll be forever grateful to Doug Miller for the difference he made in my life at a turning point by simply being excellent at his job.