Peggy Blanco

Nine months after I graduated high school, I got a new job…working at a high school. Whereas most of my classmates had post-graduation plans, I still didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, so I spent some time taking a few classes at the local community college and continuing to work.

I worked as a janitor. Definitely not my long term goal. At the end of each school day, I’d go up to the teacher’s lounge on the fourth floor and wait for classes to let out. Then I’d begin my rounds of emptying trash and sweeping floors.

One of the teachers at the school was a lady named Peggy Blanco. One day, while waiting for classes to let out, I was in that teacher’s lounge with Peggy and the topic of what I wanted to do with my life came up. I told her that I was considering becoming and auto mechanic.

“Oh Alan!”, she said. “You’re smarter than that!” I have to stop right now to explain that, because being an auto mechanic requires intelligence, both in understanding how things work and being able to troubleshoot problems, was exactly what appealed to me. I’d had a friend in high school named Tony, and he and his father Art were both mechanics. I regarded them both highly and still do! But in addition to that, I was surprised, and unsure, how Peggy had ascertained my intelligence level. And working as a janitor, I wasn’t exactly crushing it in life. I’m not sure how I could inspire that sort of confidence in her.

Regardless, it meant a lot to me.

I don’t remember what it was that eventually diverted my course away from “maybe an auto mechanic”. At one point, later, I was attempting to enroll in school to become an x-ray technician. Eventually, software development became the plan. I’m glad it did.

I never had the opportunity to tell Peggy, after my career unfolded, how much what she’d said meant to me. I’d thought about it, and regret not prioritizing it. Years later I found out she’d been on Facebook, but by that point I had deactivated my account, and Peggy had passed away.

If you ask me to name my favorite teachers, Mrs. Peggy Blanco easily makes the list, despite the fact that I was never a student of hers. When I found out she’d passed away, I also found her obituary, with many comments of condolences for her family from her former students, many of whom’s lives she touched. Not everyone has what it takes to be a great teacher. But Peggy did.