I was thrilled to see the recent article about Nicki Harmer winning Brainerd teacher of the year! I am a 2001 graduate of Brainerd High School and Mrs. Hamer taught both my AP Chem and AP Bio classes during my junior and senior years, respectively. Mrs. Harmer always had an incredible ability to balance being both tough and compassionate, to both focus on students' academic progress and on her students as growing and developing human beings. I learned a lot from Mrs. Harmer's classes-not just from the material she taught, but more importantly to prepare myself for the challenges in college and beyond. Even though she earned her teacher of the year award for 2017, it's really an award that reflects her career as an educator. Students at BHS are very well served having teachers like Mrs. Harmer in the faculty.
Troy Androli
Eagan
