High school is hard time for teenagers. It is a time when teenagers are learning who they are and struggling with their identities. On top of that, it is a constant battle juggling time between school work, jobs, sports, extra curricular activities and more. Sometimes, it can all be so overwhelming that teens have breakdowns; they have lost so much sleep keeping up with their activities and become run down. This could lead to problems in school such as failing to turn in work or even falling asleep in class. On top of the problems that every teenager experiences, there are the teenagers who are having problems feeling comfortable with things that they cannot help, such as sexuality, weight or the color of their skin. Sometimes, these kind of things are hard to talk about. Teens who feel self-conscious about things should always have someone they can talk to if they cannot talk to a friend or parents. However, sometimes simply talking to a guidance counselor does not allow students to really open up because they might not have a good enough relationship with a counselor to feel as comfortable as they could if they were sharing their problems with someone they see as a “best friend.” Students seem to look to Antioch Community High School social studies teacher Amy Skonberg-Reznicek as someone they can talk to and trust.

Skonberg is a teacher and loving friend among many students of ACHS. She sponsors the Diversity Club at ACHS, which has smaller factions such as Rainbow Alliance. Rainbow Alliance is typically for ACHS teens in the LGBT community, but it is open to anyone the same way a Pride Parade would be.

“Rainbow Alliance has been really, really active. A couple students have approached me the beginning of this year about starting a separate group. They’ve been really active and really wonderful in planning things, having meetings every other week. Really I think just forming a strong group and a strong core in order to make sure everybody knows that everybody is welcome here at ACHS,” Skonberg said.

Rainbow Alliance is nothing more than the coming together of a group of teenagers who want to feel safe with other teens who wish for the same. A place where they know they won’t be judged by what they like to do, the color of their skin or, especially, their sexual orientation.

“At a typical meeting, we will discuss current events; we’ll usually watch some video clips; and we recently made friendship and pride bracelets according to what the students wanted to do,” said Skonberg.

One activity that Diversity Club and Rainbow Alliance really get into is Day of Silence.

“For Day of Silence, we’ve always started the day of with a breakfast for anybody who wants to participate so it’s well beyond just club members. Then those students take an oath of silence to remain silent throughout the school day, and they are remaining silent in order to represent the silenced voices of many in the LGBT community who don’t really feel comfortable being themselves or even some people who have been silenced by through bullying or violence or other tragic acts,” Skonberg said.

It takes a truly remarkable kind of person to go to such lengths to make people feel good. It is rare to find such a genuinely nice and caring person like Skonberg. Students and group members of Rainbow Alliance have nothing but praise for Skonberg, even if all she offers is simple words of wisdom to make the day just a little bit better.

“I find Mrs. Skonberg really easy to talk to, but I also feel that she deeply cares about every student’s education to the highest extent,” said senior James Novack.

It’s a wonderful quality in a teacher when they cannot only act as a teacher, but also as a great friend.

“Mrs. Skonberg is very accepting and very friendly. It’s cool how she supports LGBT and how she runs Rainbow Alliance. I definitely admire her and think she’s a great person to look up to,” said senior Kyle Rehm.

Little things can make a big difference and for Skonberg to be such an open book and a great listener for the students of ACHS is a blessing.

“Personally, I am an advocate for LGBT rights. We all have a right to be equal and respected. We all have the right to take advantage of the same laws. Gay rights are really important to me,” said Skonberg. “I’m not gay, but I had a lot of friends in college that were, and I just didn’t see why we were creating a two teared system where they didn’t have rights and here at the school, I think that our LGBT students are the most likely to feel uncomfortable and unwelcome; to be the victim of over-bullying in the comments in the  hallways, so I felt it was really necessary for people to have representation and also to have a safe space where they can feel welcome to join together in a community where they know that everything is going to be safe.”

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. They come to save different problems whether they are big or small but all in all, they are saviors and they help people in more ways than they know. A person can be having the worst day, and sometimes, all they need is a pep talk or even a bad joke to make it little better, and no person is more qualified in telling bad jokes than Skonberg-Reznicek.