04| EVANS
LYNN EVANS anatomy teacher Bringing light and positivity to each and every day, Anatomy and Physiology teacher Lynn Evans spent her 35-year career at Miami Palmetto Senior High School empowering students to work towards their goals and remember that no dream is ever too big to accomplish. Through educating students about their minds and bodies, Evans equipped them with the necessary knowledge to keep themselves healthy and happy, a priceless gift that many of her students will cherish forever. Starting in 1985, Evans came to Palmetto as an athletic trainer, later transitioning to the role of Anatomy and Physiology teacher. At Palmetto, Evans not only forged relationships with her students, but also met lifelong friends and the love of her life. “We both started working here in 1985… I used to hang out in the science department, and she, of course, was in the science department,” Palmetto AP Probability & Statistics teacher Peter Migli said. “We started to date in 1991, and we got married in 1992.” As Migli and Evans worked in separate departments, the two did not begin to continuously spend time with one another until a few years into their careers. Their upcoming anniversary marks 29 years of marriage for the two, who have learned so much from one another. “She was very hands on and engaging. If we were in a room full of people, she would know most of the people before we left,” Migli said. “I, on the other hand, would sit quietly in the corner if given the choice. One of the things I have learned from her is to be more outgoing.”
Evans’s work as an Anatomy and Physiology teacher mattered greatly to her, as she saw the long-term importance of her job as an educator of the human body. She sought to create a curriculum that provided students with the tools to take as best care of themselves as possible. “She showed [her students] how [what] they were learning applied to real life. Even if she did not feel good, she came in and did her job be-
cause she cared about her students,” Palmetto AP Environmental Science and Solar Science teacher Pamela Shlactman said. During her time as a teacher, Evans battled breast cancer and severe stomach issues, which caused her tremendous pain. Despite this, she focused on being there for each of her students, as well as her colleagues. “She has always been supportive and a really good friend, and someone you could always talk to. She always believed
that you needed to be kind to other people, and it was such a nice quality about her,” Shlactman said. Evans has long been known for her dynamic teaching approach and emphasis on a classroom culture that catered to every kind of learner. Students know her as the teacher who made learning a fun and rewarding experience, but she herself was easy to talk to and made the Anatomy and Physiology classroom feel like a safe haven. “She was just such a positive force and friendly face, and everyone loved her,” former Palmetto student and AP Biology and Forensic teacher Dr. Sara Edelman said. “She was able to use her classroom as an escape and put the outside world outside… I have tried to replicate that and just be grateful to be able to do what I love.” Since her departure from the school, many administrators, faculty members and students have noticed her absence. Evans’s kindness, overflowing love for all and willingness to create a home away from home within her classes will forever be remembered as an integral part of Palmetto. “People are constantly stopping me in the hallway to ask me how she is doing… She really breathed life into the Palmetto body,” Migli said.
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Loving35MEntor STRONG CARING years at palmetto hardworking COMMUNITY member
