Chesterton football players choose which teacher they would like to see honored on Teacher Appreciation Night at halftime of Friday night’s game vs. Lake Central

Patrick Mochen
Onwardtrojans.com

Chesterton Football’s home game against Lake Central on Friday, Oct. 3 Teacher Appreciation Night. Many student-athletes from the team have chosen a teacher that will be honored during halftime. Each player wrote a letter to his chosen teacher, inviting them to the game, which starts at 7 pm.
Senior wide receiver Gus Wisch chose his junior year math teacher, Erin Cochran, to be honored during the game. Wisch, who has three touchdowns on the year, took Precalculus/Trigonometry last year with Cochran.
“I picked Mrs. Cochran because she is my favorite teacher that I have had in recent memory,” Wisch said. “She is very nice and she made it very exciting to have her class every day. She’s big into sports, likes having athletes in her class, and likes to have fun.”
Cochran is the head softball coach at the high school, and led the team to a sectional championship last season.
Chesterton High School principal Brent Martinson added: “Mrs. Cochran is one of the most energetic, relationship-building, innovating teachers at Chesterton High School. She is an outstanding role model for all students because of how she not only treats people, but how she goes about the importance of each student's education. She never gives up on a kid.”
Senior wide receiver Evan Linzy picked English teacher Dr. Blake Soller for Teacher Appreciation Night. Soller taught Linzy during his Advanced Composition class.
“Every day I was in his class, he helped me out a lot with writing and improved my writing skill,” Linzy said. “My introductions and my thesis statements got better, and he helped me with my grammar issues. He always brought a positive attitude to the classroom, and he rarely ever misses school.”
Martinson commented: “Dr. Soller is not only an outstanding educator, from his teaching ability and teaching strategies, to his interactions with kids, he is an outstanding team player with all the people in the English department. He is an incredible human being with how he treats people. In my estimate, he is one of the best educators we have in Duneland.”
Chesterton has as one of its goals a 98% graduation rate and exceeded it last year, when 99.13% of seniors earned a diploma.
“All of our teachers are great,” Martinson said. “I could talk for hours about our teachers. They treat everybody with respect, and they are energetic and enthusiastic about how they are doing. The success of their students makes them happier than anything else.”
Although most of the students have selected a teacher from the high school to be honored, some have chosen a teacher from their middle or elementary school days. Senior offensive lineman Carlos Leon invited Nancy Moats, his second grade teacher at Bailly Elementary, to the game on Friday. Leon says that he has seen her a few times over the years, but not too often. Still, he decided to pick her over the many teachers he has had since then. Moats is in her second year of retirement.
“After all this time, I still remember her,” Leon said. “She’s an outstanding teacher. She’s probably my favorite teacher through all of elementary school, she’s just stuck with me. I loved the class and I was excited to go to school every day. She’s super sweet and very welcoming to all the kids.
Tickets for Friday night’s game can be purchased online at https://sites.eventlink.com/s/chesterton-high-school/Tickets.