05/24/2026
Some teachers teach a subject. Some teachers shape a life. Sometimes you get one who does both for decades… never asking for applause.
That’s the story of Peter Strickland.
Let me be clear: I've never met Mr. Strickland. I don't know him, have no idea if he follows this page or will see read these words. But one of his former students reached out and when a student reaches out to ask me to highlight an educator and surprise them with a little kudos in return, I'm in.
So, here we go. A story about Mr. Peter Strickland who just retired from Crest High School in Shelby, after almost 30 years teaching orchestra.
The former student who wrote me, Jeremy Marler, was in the class of 2004. This was the first class to go all the way through the at-the-time new orchestra program that Mr. Strickland started at both Crest and Burns Middle Schools. It was started in the fall of 1997 and Jeremy went through the program from 6th-12th grade.
I'm assuming Mr. Strickland didn't realize he wasn’t just building musicians, he was building people. But based on Jeremy's email, that's what he did.
Years of students. Not for one semester. Not for one random elective class. From middle school into high school... adolescence into adulthood. Jeremy says Mr. Strickland taught scales, symphonies and, "confidence, discipline and teamwork."
"He taught us how to show up for each other," Jeremy says. "He taught us to carry ourselves, how to tie ties before concerts, how to shop for shirts, took care of us if we were sick on school trips, and cheered many of us on through heartbreaks, nerves and growing pains."
That's the thing with impactful teachers: The lesson plan isn't really the point.
Jeremy says last weekend, Crest High Orchestra alumni returned for a reunion retirement concert in his honor. Classes ranging from some of the very first graduates in 2003 and 2004… all the way to the class of 2029… side-by-side with instruments in hand. The alumni played favorite pieces and at the end, performed “Time to Say Goodbye,” a song that had been part of graduation traditions under Mr. Strickland’s direction.
This time, instead of Mr. Strickland handing notes to graduating seniors, the students handed personal letters to him. Updates on their lives. Gratitude. Memories. Proof that what he built stretched beyond music stands and auditoriums.
It’s hard not to love stories like this.
In a world obsessed with viral moments, here's a story about the power one teacher in our community built by standing quietly and consistently in classrooms every day.
Know what I also read in Jeremy's email?
That "Bet On Yourself" isn’t always loud.
Sometimes it looks like a teacher investing in teenagers before they know who they’ll become. Sometimes it can look like staying committed to the arts when programs everywhere are shrinking. At the bare basic (and important) level, it can mean being the person to create a place where kids feel seen.
Mr. Strickland: You clearly made impact. I assume there are now-adults everywhere carrying pieces of your influence into boardrooms, families, friendships, churches, careers and lives you helped shape.
Congrats on your retirement.
-Molly
PS: Thank you for emailing, Jeremy.
