Unsung Heroes: Ms. Gorski
Photographs submitted by Shankar.
Sanjana Shankar
Many know her from the National Honor Society (NHS), seeing her in the library, or even just in and around the halls, but this educator at Hamilton High School does so much more. Because she is always willing to lend a hand to those who need it, her days end up being some of the busiest. This year marks Ms. Gorski’s 21st and final year at Hamilton, and her position will be a hard one to fill.
As the library and technology coach, Ms. Gorski works on developing the systems and budgets for the library, as well as orders all the newest textbooks for students and any extra equipment and supplies that need to be replaced. For those of you who have a Focus period, especially after AP exams, she is the one who finds fun things to do to fill the time until the end of the school year. She orders dozens of puzzles, large coloring sheets, LEGOs, and so many more activities than we could ever imagine. Outside of the library she is also the advisor for three major clubs here at Hamilton: A Novel Idea (book club for 20 years), Battle of the Books (which has won numerous times under her mentorship), and Hamilton’s National Honor Society Chapter (where she instills the importance of giving back to the community).
As we say goodbye to someone as irreplaceable as Ms.Gorski, I’d like to share some fun information about her. Ms. Gorski has been teaching for nearly 35 years. She originally taught elementary school at Milwaukee Public Schools and transitioned from elementary schools to high school in 2005, but she has enjoyed teaching high schoolers the most. She has a Masters degree in Library and Information science. Outside of school she enjoys reading, walking, biking, walking her dog Auggie and is starting to learn Mahjong. Additionally, like many other teachers here, she drives nearly 45 min from the Milwaukee Area, but gets to enjoy watching the sunrise over Lake Michigan from her home.
Lastly, I’d like to note that I, as a student of Hamilton, have only recently gotten to truly appreciate Ms. Gorski as a teacher and as a person. I never knew how much she does for this school, nor, more importantly, that her drive comes from us, the students. For her, the best parts about her job are “talking to kids about books and recommending books…watching kids get excited about reading because I myself am such an avid reader. I love helping kids with the technology piece and watching that light bulb go off in their heads like ‘yes I get it!’" Educators who are as talented, genuine, and passionate as Ms. Gorski are incredibly rare, and I am forever grateful I got to see what a kind and pure person she really is.
For this article, many staff and students were interviewed. Because of her love for reading, we asked students and staff: If Ms. Gorski were a font, what would she be and why? Here are some of the best answers:
She's too unique and has too beautiful handwriting to be formatted into an existing font. Maybe there should be a new one created that mimics her writing style..."Jacquian font."
Bookman, because she is such a versatile person. Traditional at times, a rule follower for sure, and easy to make laugh.
"Satisfy-BOLD," because that is what I wish for her in retirement: a boldly satisfying next chapter.
Comfortaa—rounded geometric sans-serif—brings comfort in a well rounded straight forward way!
Helvetica... It's an unsung hero, a workhorse... functional, balanced, and supremely reliable!
Calibri. Has style about her, but is straight forward and honest.
CS Gordon Serif, because while she always maintains a serious and professional demeanor, it never makes her any less approachable, and she isn't intimidating.
Baskerville. It feels smart and put together without being flashy, which is very Ms. Gorski.
Cormorant Garamond, because the text's rigid lines accentuate the extremely sharp curved edges which symbolize her strong principles and role model behavior.
Suggestions for where Ms. Gorski should travel during her retirement:
She should do one of those trips where you just wander through little bookstores and cafés across Europe. A little bookstore tour feels fitting!
Ms. Gorski should absolutely travel to Italy whenever she can. Not only does Italy naturally have many attractions to see (including, but not limited to, the Colosseum, the ruins of Pompeii, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Milan Cathedral, etc.), but it also has relatively affordable prices and food that is simply to DIE for! PS: It's important to know that there are like thousands of tourist traps all over Italy (which just means a mediocre restaurant typically located around popular tourist spots). So, if you have WI-FI or data on you, always read the reviews before you sit down at a restaurant!
Somewhere nice because she deserves it!
Redwood National Park!
Some very niche and interesting places to travel—Montevideo, Uruguay, it's gorgeous. Brazil. Thailand/Malaysia
Belgium, Bruges
Greece and Croatia!
Do you know any fun facts about Ms. Gorski?
She likes tootsie rolls, walking her dog, reading (of course), watching her son play football, and has interest in learning to play Mahjong.
She has great stories about the great cricket senior prank!
She's a member of a book club (duh). Her favorite genre of literature is historical fiction.
If you leave your class alone with her to get coffee and are gone too long....she WILL find you.....sorry Heckman!
Her dog, Augie, is very cute! Like, he shouldn't have a right to be so cute.
With Ms. Gorski retiring this year, she deserves to know the extent of the impact she has had here at Hamilton. So here are some quotes from those on whom she's had an impact:
Ms. Gorski is quite honestly irreplaceable. She does SO MUCH for our school, the IMC, teachers, and students. I'm most going to miss how helpful she was in shaping my AP Language literature circles—so many of those titles in my current rotation were recommendations she came across! She has absolutely made me a better teacher and is an invaluable resource to staff.
Ms. Gorski was an amazing person to turn to whenever you had a tech question or needed help finding a source. She was an incredible lead for Battle of the Books; her support helped the club flourish in a way it truly wouldn't have without her. But more than that, she was a friendly face to see during study hall, and she truly was the soul of the IMC. She was dependable, knowledgeable, and empathetic, especially when it mattered. I missed her when I graduated from Hamilton, and I wish her the best in retirement.
Here are some of my favorite things about Ms. Gorski: listening to her old time Christmas music during the holidays, her knowledge of WeVideo podcasting and technology, and collaborating on Window Displays. She always has such fun ideas as well as fun old fashioned decorations. Due to the length of time we worked together, she didn’t micromanage and she encouraged me to do my best.
I can't count how many times in the decades we worked together that I had to "call down to the IMC" to help a student with their password....and sometimes we just kept talking about something else! I loved all those chats, but, NOW that we are retiring together, we can have those chats as often as we'd like!
I am part of Battle of the Books, a club that Ms. Gorski and the team is very passionate about. She has run the club for many years and for the three years I've been part of the club, she's been on top of every single thing an advisor should be. She manages a large amount of student led activities but adding on our little club also makes me appreciate her infinitely more. She's been a role model and active adult in our competition while being supportive every season.
Sophomore year I somehow managed to completely jam the library printer five minutes before class while trying to print an assignment I forgot about. I was fully panicking, but Ms. Gorski just walked over, fixed it in like thirty seconds, and laughed it off while I stood there apologizing a million times. She always had a way of making stressful situations feel way less serious, and she made the library feel welcoming instead of intimidating.
Ms. Gorski has ALWAYS been more than willing to help me and my photography students. Whether she is helping us find a space to shoot, setting up backdrops, working with editing software, or ordering lighting equipment, she is helping, helping, helping all the time!
Ms. Gorski has done an amazing amount of work when it comes to running NHS. Whenever someone needs help, she is always there to help. She made the entire NHS process clear and is constantly making sure the NHS members are informed of all necessary information. I also have a Focus block that she has made into a great study environment. She is kind and understands all of the students' situations.
She has helped me many times regarding chromebook issues, but also helping with passes to make sure I could get my classes that I needed to get to. She just recently helped me with getting more printer paper money in order for me to be able to print books for StoryBuilders. She always goes above and beyond!
I appreciate all the new resources she finds and shares that help supplement class activities. She really has a knack for finding new tech that is helpful and enriches learning.
While I haven't had many interactions with Ms. Gorski during my time here at HHS, whenever I'd walk up to her to ask a question, no matter how stupid it sounded to me, she would always answer them seriously, and with a smile on her face at that! She's a great person.
Specifically for NHS, Ms. Gorski has helped me gain my professionalism and character. She cares immensely about the community around her, and her leadership as a whole inspired me to take action and create a positive change through volunteering.
Ms. Gorski has helped me so much. Because she advises NHS and I serve as the secretary, we chat daily about the club and about other subjects. She is always open to help me with anything in my life, NHS or not. I truly appreciate her for everything she does and will miss her presence in the library!
HER! Her steadfast and calm demeanor. Her problem solving abilities, her knowledge and how to apply it for the best outcome for EACH teacher and kiddo.
She's a friendly face who's always willing to help and has always been patient with me when it takes a little longer than it should to find a book!
I have appreciated our reflective personal and professional discussions over the years as well as how many times she has patiently attended to my technical difficulties. "Misti...did you try pulling out the plug and plugging it back in?"
Jacque and I had numerous conversations about books and I loved hearing about what she was reading and she always asked me about what I was reading, too. I really enjoyed our book chats.
She was so helpful in spending the summer trying to learn Adobe Premiere Pro so we could teach it the following year in film productions.
I like it when she comes over to my house after school to hang out and drink juice. :)
Celebrating all our birthdays together!!! #birthdaysistas
Just being able to saunter into the IMC and chat with her...the gift of time and conversation.
As we come to the end of the school year, Ms. Gorski leaves us with a piece of life advice that I think can help a lot of us as some head off to life after high school: “Read what you want and read often; people should be reading all the time as much as they can. Literacy is a great way to escape and engage your mind: ‘Knowledge is power.’”
Thank you, Ms. Gorski, for choosing to spend your time with us at Hamilton High School. I know I won't forget you, and neither will the school.
