Johnny Matich – Taylorsville High School

When I was in eleventh grade is when i met Mr. Matich. This was in 2008 and he then taught English at Granger High School. Matich was an extremely caring and very respectful person. He always listened to what I had to say and took me very serious. He had such a huge impact on my life, he always stood by my side and helped me through things that he had no idea he impacted me on. He became one of my great friends, all the way through until the day I graduated. He was also the football coach and I became manager/water girl of the football team. This meant the world to me because not only was he helping me through everything that was going on in my life, he opened up different opportunities for me and showed me things that seemed dumb or uninteresting could become a highlight of my life. Being part of the football team meant loyalty, family, & trust. I was not only the manager, I was part of that family, we became close, we had each other’s backs and Matich showed us that no matter if we win or lose a game, it’s the heart and the meaning behind that matters. Granger didn’t have a very good year when I was part of the team, but we had a lot of fun and went through a lot of tragedy during our year, but through it all Matich taught us to be strong and stick through it all, and tomorrow will be another start. He has impacted my life, I think about him every day and the things he taught me, not only in English & football, But in life, he taught me to be a better person and he helped me pull through hard times in my life. I would love to see him receive an award, or even recognition, because he probably saved me from so much.

-Vanessa Romero