Teen had written hundreds of thank-you notes to 74 teachers—the teachers came together to give her a big surprise
Sometimes, a person might need to hear how much their work means to the people around them. A high school senior had taken the responsibility to let her teachers know how appreciated and valued they were since she was a little girl. The teen, Minna Yang, would write thank-you notes to her teachers and kept adding new teachers to her list as she kept getting older. The kind notes made a big difference in every teacher's life, so they planned a special surprise for her when she was about to graduate, per KARE 11 News.
One of Minna's teachers, Iris Sanders, shared how her kind notes had helped him realize the impact he was making on students. "It is touching. It really is." All of her teachers, including the director of the band at the Roseville High School, where Minna played the flute, received the notes. Most of them also receive multiple notes every single year. "I just like to thank them because they help me a lot," Minna pointed out. One notable thing is that the teen didn't stop giving notes to her old teachers as she moved up a grade or school. Natalie Skokstad, a teacher at Minna's old elementary school, still received those notes. "I miss visiting you," the teen wrote in the note for her former teacher at Little Canada Elementary School.
"11 years ago, she was here with me and she is still writing me notes," Natalie revealed. Her old teachers also remembered when Minna wrote sentence-long notes as she was still learning how to write. The teen kept a list of people she wanted to send the notes to and it had become significantly long by the time she was about to graduate high school. There were around 74 people on her list, consisting of staff and friends and she wrote them notes several times in a year. She sent the notes to her elementary teachers with a piece of candy with the help of her little brother, Adam. "They are still changing the world and I want them to know that," Minna remarked.
So when Minna was about to graduate from school, her teachers gathered in a room to surprise her and tell her how much difference her act of kindness had made for them. "I take a note out every time I feel like I can't do it and you help me do it," one of her teachers shared. Many of them surprised her with gifts and notes of their own. "You are the reason I kept going on. It has been a tough year, so I am really glad that you guys are here with me," Minna told her teachers. "I am glad that you guys have helped me grow as a student and as a person." The teen's mom had been laid off at that time and the family was struggling financially.
She had decided to work for a year before she went to college, but her teachers had other plans for her. They set up a GoFundMe for Minna, so her education wouldn't be delayed. The fundraiser managed to raise $20,190 out of its $20,000 goal. Minna hoped to become a teacher after she was done with college. People appreciated her kind effort for her teachers in the comments section of the video. @simmeringfrog2468 wrote, "Minna has far more empathy than the majority of human beings! What an amazing person she is!" @katherinehamilton2147 commented, "Even at age 68, I have a lot of teachers over the years I wish I'd thanked. What a really kind young lady!"