Graduates

These are emails sent to me from graduates (most during their first year in university). I hope you find these messages encouraging when you see no end to the work and amount of material that you need to study for this course.  ~ Ms. Law

The years in brackets are their high school graduation years. The messages are listed in reverse chronological order with the most recent email occuring first. 

I just wanted to thank you for all your guidance and mentorship when I was in high school. You made biology really interesting and ultimately inspired me to pursue something in healthcare. You also took a chance on me when you took me on as MSC exec and then president later on. MSC genuinely really changed my life, made me more confident about taking on leadership positions, and 100% influenced what I ended up doing in university. I would not be where I am today without you so please keep doing what you're doing!!  (email received 2023, graduate of 2020)

I just wanted to share that I successfully defended my PhD in neuroscience last week. You were absolutely instrumental in making me excited about science and confident in my skills. I appreciate how hard you pushed us - I was incredibly prepared for first year courses at McGill, which made me feel prepared to learn even more complex material, which led to grad school.. etc! (email received 2023, @McGill)

I was a student of yours back in 2011/2012. You really planted the early seeds for my love of science, and made me aware that you could grow up and be a researcher or scientist. I STILL remember building a 3D model of rhodopsin and reading neurology research papers. I got my PhD in molecular biology back in June, and I start my new job as a *Scientist* next week. :) I just want to thank you, you were such a positive influence on me at a real turning point in my life and I'm incredibly grateful. (email received 2023, @Ryerson)

I'd really like to thank you for everything that you've imparted to me throughout my time in Mackenzie. There's the obvious academic stuff -- my work ethic that I was forced to improve by both grade 10 science and grade 12 biology, as well as my understanding of cells and the biological processes in humans (the ones that I got through before dropping the course). I don't think I'd be capable of maintaining a conversation about biology without those courses. But what I'm truly thankful for is the stuff that goes beyond academics. Your genuine love for your work and your constant optimism is something that completely fills your classroom, and truly enhanced my time at Mackenzie. I think what really touched me in the episode is the fact that although I wouldn't have been able to put my finger on this back in high school, I can truly appreciate it now looking back. Your classes truly demonstrate how much fun learning can be, and I can confidently say that it's teachers like you that kept me interested and motivated to study. (2021)

I was in your MaCS SBI4U class at W.L Mac in 2014-2015. I have since completed my Honours B.Sc. in Biomedical Science and am currently doing my B.Ed. in Intermediate-Senior Science and Biology at York. I just wanted to reach out to you to say how grateful I am for the science education you provided me in my final year of high school. As a bio undergrad, I referred to your slides to help me refresh my memory on certain concepts (and relearn at times) more than I care to admit. Now in my teacher education, I often have the opportunity to reflect on my own experiences in school and your class is top of my mind all the time! I truly understand and appreciate the effort it took for you to create meaningful and engaging lessons and activities for us, so this is a huge THANK YOU! (2015)

In my second year molecular biology class, I’m currently learning about DNA replication, transcription, translation and protein structure for the 3rd year in a row; all at a shallower depth than we covered in class. Maybe you’re a bit too good at your job, Ms. Law.

Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for teaching such an excellent biology course. There have been and continue to be many moments where I’m grateful to you and all the teachers at Mackenzie for preparing me so well. And if I may, a small message for all your current students: “If you’re thinking of majoring in any life science, study hard while your teacher isn’t teaching 600 students per semester. You’ll be seeing this stuff for the rest of your career!” (2020 @ McGill)

I hope you are doing well, I am in my first week of university and I just wanted to tell you how much your classes and powerpoints have already helped me so far in uni.I know it is only the first week but I have been looking through my physiology and chem workbooks (do not even ask how much I paid for them it's insane) and the work matches up almost to a tee of what you taught us. I am just so thankful that I had you as my bio teacher and I wanted to say thank you!!! I will keep you posted on how the year goes but so far so good, like I go to class and I already know the stuff from the lecture because you taught it to me!! So thank you so much and I hope things are going well for you at MAC.  (2021)

I'm at McMaster right now and as much as I'd like to say school is easy, I'm dying and drowning in work (but I think that's mostly because online school sucks a ton). I will say though that your genetics unit for bio 12 saved me in cell bio (one of the courses I'm taking now) because like we actually learned the curriculum in depth. I have also adopted your flow chart method/graphic organizer for a lot of my notes because it's been super helpful in just creating the bigger picture especially when there's lots of mini steps/processes. (2020 @ McMaster, COVID graduate)

Back in Gr12 you forced us to create a cumulative flowchart for the cellular respiration unit and I hated every bit of it. I don't know why, but I just hated going through that process. Well, this was last year's product; the "ultimate flow chart" which contained all the mechanisms I needed to know for the upcoming midterm. None of my other study methods were working for that class (flashcards, reading, etc) so unironically I told myself this couldn't get any worse with the 1-page flowchart being my final option. I scored in the 98th percentile for the midterm (38/40). If it wasn't for that flowchart, I would not have attained that score. After that midterm, I drew flowcharts for practically ANYTHING that involved a process - and oh man were they helpful for human phys. Even when I make reminders for myself, I use flowcharts describing the sequence I would do things in. Your flowcharts literally changed my life. (2018 @ UT)

The students in this video are from both semester 1 and 2 of the class of 2020.  The year of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Their words truly touched my heart. It was one of worse times to be a grade 12 student, with prom, commencement, all trips and events canceled. Yet they stayed strong, persevered and found ways to share their appreciation with their teacher. In my 19 years of teaching, this is the first time I've ever had a video made for me. I'm indebted to A. Zeng for the initiative, collecting the videos and compiling and editing the final version. This class will always hold a special place in my heart. We've been through something special together. Unique and hopefully will never have to happen again. =)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfVzE8kp3yY&feature=youtu.be

I know this email is a little out of the blue, but I’ve been reviewing cellular respiration to prep for biochem next year and was reminded of your class. I wanted to say (for the hundredth time) how amazing your instruction was & that I STILL remember the majority of what you taught us about metabolism/biochemistry (which I'm now thinking of specializing in!!). You have no idea how many times I've lauded your teaching to my U of T friends. With first year done I can definitely say that everyone who comes out of your class is very lucky and very well-prepared. (2019 @ UT)

I know I didn't do as well as I would have liked to in your grade 12 biology class, but I actually learned so much from it, and I didn't really realize it until now. Biology was and still is my favourite area of science, and the genetics unit from both grade 11 and 12 were my favourite units, but last year, after taking MaCS biology I really thought I wouldn't be able to maintain my average for McMaster Life Science and I made the wrong program choice. Obviously, I was being dramatic because my average was still pretty high, but your class kicked my butt. I know when I visited during my reading week, I said that my biology term test was easier than your tests, but I didn't fully explain why I found it easier. Looking back, your tests weren't that difficult, I just wasn't studying for them effectively. I realized that throughout all of high school I was learning passively and I always crammed the night before and the day of each test, which is why I didn't do as well as I wanted to do. It was enough for me to get by and get good enough grades, but your class was like a reality check. For the grade 12 biology exam, I finally tried to actually understand the material rather than memorizing it, and I did much better than how I was doing for your tests.

I'm currently taking a cell biology course that has literally everything that you taught us last year in the genetics unit with the MaCS component plus some additional information. We don't have a final exam for that course. Instead, we have 3 term tests and a formal lab report that we've been working on since the beginning of the term. I already wrote the first 2 tests and I got 95% in both tests!!; I literally review what we learn after each lecture, and then for the test, I study a week in advance. I find that I'm actually understanding the material, enjoying it, and I'm a lot less stressed than I was for grade 12 biology. My roommate did AP biology in her high school, but she never learned half the things we did in MaCS biology and her teacher never really prepared her for university-level biology. She was only prepared for passing an AP exam that covered more evolutionary biology. For our biology formal lab report, we are analyzing our salivary amylase gene copy number based on our ancestral diet. It's very interesting, and I'm also glad you taught us how to write a lab report last year because we are pretty much using the same format as last year with a similar marking scheme. I'm so so so so grateful to have had you as my biology teacher in high school because you really prepared me for university. (2019 @ McMaster)

I just finished my second biology midterm today and I felt pretty good about it! The main reason I’m feeling so good about myself and how I’m doing in first year biology now is because of the one and only you, Ms.Law. I’m so thankful that I had the opportunity to learn in your class. It was truly an adventure. I still find myself going back to your slides whenever I’m unsure about some material. (2018)

I don't know if you would remember me but I was in your SBI4U class in the Fall of 2014. It's been almost 5 years since I've dealt with biology and I have really missed it. I always interested in the topic but never for a career. Currently, I'm starting my masters of applied science at U of T for mechanical engineering and I was doing some research for my thesis in bio-compatibility and fracture mechanics of hip and femur implants. I got to say, it's pretty interesting and it got me reminiscing of your class. Thank you for the deep care in your teaching and giving me a strong foundation in biology. Although I didn't pursue it as a career, I realized how helpful it was in the long run.  (2015 @ UT)

Now, I'm at U of T, doing life sciences, and still using your notes to guide me through bio! I know I wasn't a great student (unfortunately) when you were teaching me, but I wanted to say thank you for pushing me to better myself and get my stuff together. Your words meant a lot to me and I hope that it's not too late for me to thank you for the positive impact that you've had on my life. <3 (2017 @ UT)

I know, I didn't do the best in your course but I did take your lessons and things I learned in that course to university. The material from your class and your ability to drill in the krebs cycle has not only helped me with my undergraduate studies but also studying for my MCAT. You honestly were a great teacher and I am not just saying that! You gave me such a great bio foundation as well as a foundation on how to study for a heavy course, preparing me well for university courses. You prepared me so well for university that my mark in bio actually went up (probably because no senioritis). I've referenced your website multiple times when studying for thing when I needed clarification. I can't thank you enough for being such a good teacher! (2015 @ McMaster, 4th year)

Tbh ur grade 12 bio course is still the hardest course I've ever had to date smh my head. I ended up taking kinesiology at york and a lot of stuff from ur class is showing up in my courses. I never got to a chance to tell you this, even when we ran into each other at promenade last year, but grade 12 bio was the first class throughout my whole entire school experience that I genuinely enjoyed other than gym class. For some odd reason I ended up liking school content for the first time ever (something that's never happened before school is boring lel), but the main reason I enjoyed the hardest class I've ever taken so much was because of one reason, you! You're a great teacher mrs, you're funny in your own little quirky way lmfao, caring and def know how to teach 4.7/5 stars lol. Keep up the great work and never change :) (2017 @ York, 2nd year)

I'm going to thank you very much for being such an amazing teacher and preparing us so well for university. I referenced your class material to study for my third year (THIRD YEAR!) physiology course (endocrine system) and it was a massive help. Your students are so lucky to have you! (2016 @ York, 3rd year)

Just wanted to say a quick hi and thank you for preparing me for this very busy time. Without your hard push in the biology course I don't think I would be as competent and prepared as I am right now. When I compare myself with others, I see that I am able to produce better notes both during and after lectures as a result of your note taking assignments (they really did teach me to be concise). (2018)

Biology 12 was definitely a big transition from Biology 11 for me, mostly because there's just so much more material that we covered. In addition, your teaching style is just much more different from the other teachers I've had in the past. However, I think it REALLY prepared me well and equipped me with the skills I need and now use in university.  I remember that I only had to print the slides before class for Biology 12 and not for any of my other classes. I definitely found it weird at first, but now I realized that it helped me establish a good habit of being an active listener and how to take notes more efficiently, not only for my Biology class, but for every class I have. 

I also remember dreading all those multiple choice questions on your tests just because it was really different from what I was used to and there were a lot of them! I was scared and concerned that I would get a bad mark on my first midterm test for Cell Biology because it was all M/C questions. I thought that the same pattern would occur for me here in university where I would get a 70% just like on your M/C questions. However, I didn't.  There were no surprises on any of the questions as most of it was review for me (biochem, energy and cellular respiration). The way they ask and word the questions are a lot like the tests that you gave us! It was really tricky and it really tests your knowledge on the material. Since I know that I don't really do well with M/C questions, I made it to a point that I won't procrastinate and study the night before (like how I usually would for your class). I just saw my first midterm mark and I can't be any happier to get a 92% on it, when I'm used to getting a 70% on your tests before. The tests that I took in your class was definitely a good practice and an excellent representation of what to expect in university. 

Your class definitely prepared me really well and I couldn't be more grateful to you! I don't know how well I would've done if I didn't have the skills and the background that you taught me. So, thank you so much, Ms. Law! :) (2017 @ UWaterloo)

I just wanted to say thank you. After high school, the uni bio midterms were easy even after barely paying attention in class the whole month. The habit of studying by summarizing is really helpful. (2017)

[We] are studying for our bio midterm that we are taking today, and we just need to thank you for everything that you did for us! Bio 12 was hard but thanks to that class we have barely had to study for this exam. However, content is just one of the many things we learned from your class. Thanks to you, we knew how to study, take notes, and be prepared for class in a way that we wouldn't have otherwise. Thank you a million times over. You truly are an amazing teacher.  (2017)

Last year with the knowledge and the strategies i learnt from your grade 12 Biology classes, I finished UofT first year Bio courses with a 93% average. They emailed me to congratulate me and ask me to join a specialist program in Molecular Biology and Genetics which only allows 20 people from each year. I know it has been more than a year since I was your student, however I do not think anyone else has made an impact on my life and my decisions as much as you did. (2016 @ UT)

We want to first thank-you for guiding us through three years of science, from our sapling years learning the cell cycle to the hardcore grade 12 biology beast you curated for the road ahead. And for bringing us to Lazer Quest ([my friend] got destroyed but loved it anyway). We miss you, we miss everything. We can also safely say that all your life science children whom you inspired with your cholesterol-mediates-fluidity-in-the-cell-membrane table dance are doing you proud. Very few moments can compare to when you're sitting in a con hall lecture and the prof whips up a slide on the key hormones of the endocrine system and your eyes start darting for old Mac faces up on the balcony and every single one of you is mouthing "Ms. Law taught us this" -- this is when we know we can sit back and stop taking notes because you had us covered. Thanks for preparing us for the world and for all the emails you sent to us during midterm season to keep us going. (2015)

I'm sure you've heard this plenty of times before but you prepared us SO WELL! There were so many times where [my friend] and I would laugh during lecture because our prof would be like "this is kind of complex so we won't go too into detail" for something that you taught in bio 12! I should've emailed you earlier about this, but thank you so much for preparing us so well! :') (Bio was my highest mark!!!) (2016 @ UT)

Although I definitely cannot say that I particularly enjoyed your bio 12 tests, I must say that your teaching prepared me so well for first year bio. I PROMISE i'm not just saying this because I just asked to use you as a reference haha. Your teaching and your activities actually helped me understand a lot of the concepts of genetics, metabolism, etc. Looking back now after experiencing how my uni profs are teaching the similar content, I would really be struggling to grasp what in the world they're going on about. So I genuinely appreciate your bio 12 class. :) (2016)

I was just sitting here studying for my first university exam which guess what.. happens to be biology (!) and I found myself reading about something in my professors lecture slides that was very confusing and was much better explained in your slides from last year, so I used them! That inspired a little bit of procrastination on my part (something i'm not at all foreign to, sorry to break it to you but I did procrastinate a lot for your class) and I decided to shoot you a message so you can know that even though you aren't technically my biology teacher anymore :( you still are still able to help me learn and get me through hard times! If there's anything I can say to my grade 12 self sitting in your class is that I should, first of all be paying attention, and second of all, cherish it because everything I learned last year is showing up again! And it makes me feel very smart when I can explain something to my peers with thorough detail because you made sure it was ingrained in my brain forever. Please never change Ms Law you are by far the best teacher I had in all of high school and truly inspired my love for biology and my (hopeful) degree, you never gave up on me and I really do appreciate that. (2016 @ Queens)

I had my first set of midterms last week, and I felt very confident and prepared for my Cell Biology exam (a feeling I had only experienced twice during Grade 12). I did very well, and I just wanted to thank you for last year! I was very prepared because of your class and your amazing teaching, and if I could go back in time and tell myself to stop complaining about the bio textbook readings I definitely would. (2016 @ Waterloo)

I just wanted to say how thankful I am that I was once in your grade 12 biology course! Although back in the day I thought there was too much content on the powerpoints to know for one of your biology tests, today I am so grateful for it.  It prepared me very well for university. In biology we get powerpoint lessons like the one you used to teach us very often! Many students complain about how much material our professor puts on his slides, however I am used to it already cause of the amazing biology teacher I had in grade 12  :). Studying for my upcoming midterm will be like studying for one of your biology tests. Therefore, thank you for everything! (2016)

To be honest, I was a bit doubtful when people said your classes made first year easier but it's absolutely true and I can't tell you how thankful I am for you preparing me so well. I'm always telling everyone that one day I'd visit to thank you in person, and hopefully I'll be able to do that soon! (2016)

You and I both know that biology was one of the classes that I didn't really study for, but did alright in. Makes me wonder how well I would've done if I was in class and actually prepared 75% of the time haha. Regardless, I just wanted to thank you for creating a rigorous class and pushing everyone out of their comfort zone. In university, going to classes having already read the associated textbook chapters and having the slides printed out was something that was foreign in grade 12, but really makes me feel comfortable in university. Most of my exams coming up are multiple choice, and from the looks of the practice quizzes online, they aren't as difficult as your multiple choice haha. I really think I'm ahead of the pack in most of my courses and can achieve a 4.0, so I just wanted to take the time to thank you for really mastering your craft of teaching and sending people off prepared to take on bigger and better things. (2016)

I just wanted to say hello and also to say thank you for all the torturous learning in bio 12. Right now, I’m taking the evolution bio course, which hasn't really encompassed anything you taught in Gr. 12 yet, but the professor will be starting genetics later this week, and next semester’s bio course is entirely based on cellular biology. It’s funny how much of a correlation my psychology textbook has with your ppt slides as well. All your ppts on the nervous system are covered in the textbook, and it’s saved me time from having to learn it all from scratch because I retained a lot of your material from over the summer. And despite absolutely hating doing note-taking assignments last year, I find that having already learnt and practiced the skill has been really helpful with textbook readings from all my courses. (2016 @ UT)

The second week of university life started. I am studying Life Sciences at University of Toronto and I just wanted to thank you for all the things you taught us. Even though it was the first week, I can see how time management is really important. By teaching us how to get prepared for a class, making us read the textbook and taking notes about it before coming to class, studying the material everyday (not just the day before the test), actively listening the teacher and taking notes on the printed version of slides and showing how understanding the concept is so much useful than memorizing what is on the slides, you prepared us for university like no one else did. Even though we complained about it every single day last year, now I use the techniques you thought us for every single class. Like I said before, I would not love Biology this much if it wasn’t for you. Thank you for everything, we are all so lucky to have you as a teacher. (2016 @ UT)

Just want to thank you for making SBI4U so detailed and thorough. It was tough, but it was so worth it - if it weren't for you, I would barely have any idea what's going on in my bio lectures at the moment. (2015 @ UT)

Guess what? My first semester bio mark for uni was higher than my mark in your class!!! Isn't that insane? You prepared us so so so well and I just wanted to thank you for everything last year. All the skills I got from your class in terms of how to study and how to understand and basically everything just really helped handle the difficulty of this course. I probably wouldn't have survived bio here/my mark would have been terrible if not for your class. (2015 @ UWO)

Although I am not taking a particularly "sciencey" route, I am totally thankful for the hell you put me through in that class. You can show students this email! "STUDENTS READING THIS EMAIL, MS. LAW ISN'T CRAZY, SHE'S ACTUALLY PREPARING YOU FOR LIFE! DO THE WORK, WORK HARD NOW, AND ENJOY LATER!" (2015 @ Waterloo)

We just finished the molecular genetics unit in biochemistry last week and it was all a review for me. Actually, we did transcription and translation in more detail in Grade 12 bio than what I learned here. Although Grade 12 bio seemed stressful at that time, it's really helped me a lot here. Moving to a whole new country without knowing anyone has been difficult but at least I don't have to be too stressed out over my studies since high school prepared me well. Honestly, I'm not as stressed out about schoolwork as I am about the heat. (It's like a heatwave everyday here.) Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you so so so much for teaching us. Thank you for the analogies and cues for memorizing and understanding biology. I'm really glad we had bio with you. (2015 @ Caribbean)

I'm just messaging to say thank you for everything last year, it was a really tough last semester of biology, and even though I did not receive a high grade in the course I am still thankful for being able to learn from you. Despite me not getting a high grade (60%) I made it my goal to do better in first year biology, and I recently just had my first midterm last Saturday and I couldn't be more thankful because of what I learned from last year and all that information that I still retained after the summer. So because of you and studying in advance for this midterm I scored a grade of A. THANK YOU MS LAW!!! I did not like biology as much last year, however this year I am liking it a lot! So thank you for that and have a great year Ms. Law. (2015)

Thank you for teaching us so many useful things in biology 12. And yes, our biology has been very easy so far compared to grade 12 biology. (2015 @ Ryerson)

I'm about to have my bio midterm tomorrow, and I surprisingly don't feel stressed. Thank you so much for being such a great teacher, Biology is one of the only courses where I actually understand everything the professor is talking about! (2015)

I just wanted to tell you that I'm really really REALLY grateful for you teaching me, and making your tests as hard as they were (even though at the time I wanted to cry they seemed so hard). I just had my first midterm, Cell Biology. The questions were just like yours, and that really helped me do well. People were gasping about how difficult it was, and I felt kinda like an old war veteran since it seemed easy in comparison, haha! If anyone in your current class complains, tell them to suck it up cause it doesn't get any easier. (2014 @ Waterloo)

I'm doing pretty well with university so far. Biology is definitely one of the easiest courses this term because of how hard you went on us during Gr. 12, so I'm proud to share that I was one of the 8 people out of 1200-ish who got 100% on the first Biology Midterm thanks to your help :D. (2014 @ Waterloo)

I go to UofT Scarborough so I just finished my midterms. They were Biology, Philosophy, Psychology and Chemistry all in one week which was challenging, but that is what coffee is for. I must say, Mackenzie did an excellent job of preparing me, especially for Chem and Bio because I found my self thinking "I remember this from high school!" a ton when I was going through the material. So shout outs to you, Ms.Extavour, Ms. Assim, Ms. Batras and Dr.Burt for helping me pass midterms. (2014 @ UTSC)

So I had to study for my first UofT biology midterm and it was pretty overwhelming, but without even thinking I found myself making a comparison chart. Grade 12 Bio with you has programmed me to make charts and tables to summarize information. I won't lie, at first when you told us to make charts we were all "when am I ever gonna use this it's a waste of time" but it's probably one of the best skills I've picked up from your class. That, and multiple choice test-taking. After the bio120 midterm, everyone was complaining about the multiple choice (the average was 53%) and I didn't even find it too bad (I got a 92% woo!!). I hope you don't find this email sappy, but you've prepared me so well for university, it's hardly a transition from your grade 12 bio class. (2014 @ UT)

I wanted to say thank you for being an amazing inspiration and being a fantastic support. The grade 12 biology were fantastic classes and I use those classes everyday in my lectures. Even on one of the last test I had a question about thyroid, and I remember you were talking about being lethargic so it helped me answer a question. Your assistance and smile has made a great positive impact in my life. Thank you! (2014)