The brown and gold cover of the 1986 Twin Lakes High School yearbook, Through the Looking Glass, sits on a shelf in communications Dean Angela Anyzeski’s room. As she grabs the book and sets it down, she flips through the pages of her graduating class’ yearbook, looking at class photos aged with memories. 

After attending from 1982 to 1986, Mrs. Anyzeski came back to the school, now named Alexander W. Dreyfoos Jr. School of the Arts. Starting as the Speech and Debate teacher co-teaching Creative Writing, she eventually became the dean of the communications department and a communications teacher as well as the coach of the Speech and Debate Team. Mrs. Anyzeski has been teaching at the school for the past 27 years.

When she was a student at Twin Lakes, Mrs. Anyzeski worked as the copy editor for the yearbook. Despite being familiar with speech and debate from her friends, she did not take the speech and debate class.

After graduating from Florida Atlantic University with her Bachelor in 1994, she got a job at Suncoast Community High School, teaching English there for one year and taught Speech and Debate for two years. In 1998, she transferred to teach at Dreyfoos, teaching speech and debate. She was taught and guided by the former Twin Lakes Speech and Debate Coach, Dale McCall. 

“I transitioned (into teaching speech and debate), and then (teaching) it was just fairly natural,” Mrs. Anyzeski said. “The kids tend to be very organized, focused, high achieving, smart, curious, (and) self-motivated in a lot of ways, but a little quirky. They (also) have goals and expectations.” 

Co-president of the Speech and Debate Team and communications junior Emily Ramirez said Mrs. Anyzeski creates “uplifting” bonds with her students. Ramirez had limited experience in speech and debate as a freshman. According to Ramierez, Mrs. Anyzeski helped her grow as a public speaker from her freshman year to her junior year. 

“After having her as a teacher and being able to speak on the fly, I’m much better at being able to adapt myself to different settings,” Ramirez said. “Having that exposure to the skill of public speaking, I’m much more able to hold a conversation and entertain a crowd, and I have Mrs. Anyzeski to thank for that.”

Throughout the years that Mrs. Anyzeski has taught her, Ramirez feels their bond has grown stronger. Ramirez said she appreciates how Mrs. Anyzeski is “easy to talk to” and how “she talks to you like you’re a person.”

In addition to the bonds she has with her students, she has also created bonds with her fellow staff members. A few years ago, communications teacher Ruby Hernandez called Mrs. Anyzeski for help when the boat that Mrs. Hernandez was filming a short film, on a boat, that needed more space for the actors. Mrs. Anyzeski and her husband showed up to the shoot with their boat for extra support. 

Communications teacher Brittany Rigdon has been co-workers with Mrs. Anyzeski for over 17 years. In 2016, Mrs. Anyzeski and Ms. Rigdon co-taught a creative writing class. 

“We worked really well together,” Ms. Rigdon said. “She’s the best. I consider her a boss, really a boss babe, but also my boss, because even though we’re co-workers, she’s the chair of the communications department. She’s (the) best boss I’ve ever had.” 

Through Ms. Rigdon’s time working alongside Mrs. Anyzeski, she has seen Mrs. Anyzeski’s education philosophy and the effort she puts into teaching.

“She’s a very consistent person,” Ms. Rigdon said. “She (has) always loved her students so much. She (has) always been driven to get them the best opportunities and to train them to be the best that they can be.”

Mrs. Hernandez has known Mrs. Anyzeski for over two decades. Mrs. Hernandez first met Mrs. Anyzeski during her audition for the high school and “begrudgingly” took the debate class with Mrs. Anyzeski as her teacher. Since then, their bond has changed to a relationship between coworkers and friends. 

“It’s like getting to know your parents when you’re older, where you think of them as these people who you have an idea of who they are, and then you get to know them as real humans,” Mrs. Hernandez said. “It’s just a very wonderful way to deepen that relationship and learn more about them.”

Outside of the classroom, Mrs. Anyzeski is the oldest sibling in her family with a brother who is four years younger. Her hobbies include watching documentaries and cooking shows, traveling, reading, and eating sweets and comfort foods that remind her of the fall and winter holidays. 

“My ideal evening would be to get on the treadmill and watch a reality show, get relaxed, and then just hang out with my dog,” Mrs. Anyzeski said. “I like to cook. I’m not very good at it, but I like to try different things. On the weekends, I try different weird recipes sometimes.” 

Mrs. Anyzeski continues with her relationships outside and inside school. Her goddaughter, dance senior Keira Bliss, has experienced firsthand the “comfort” Mrs. Anyzeski brings into their relationship. 

“She’s definitely helped me quite a bit,” Bliss said. “Whenever I have a rough day, I can just go up to her classroom and be like, ‘Can I just sit for a couple minutes?’ So that makes me feel good and safe with her.” 

Mrs. Anyzeski plays a role in Bliss’ life not only as a godmother but also as a mentor. Bliss admires Mrs. Anyzeski’s work ethic as well as how “she devotes her time into doing what she loves” and how she is “hardworking, organized, and caring.”

“She’s always showing up for the kids — all the kids love her,” Bliss said. “She’s strict, but they get a lot out of her, and she’s always there for everyone and teaches them valuable lessons.”

Mrs. Anyzeski serves as a mentor for students, like Ramirez, who said she “hope(s) to be as committed and as prone to following through as she is.” 

“Mrs. Anyzeski is a very committed person. She will always follow through with something if she commits to it,” Ramirez said. “She’s always there, and she’s always willing to lend herself wherever and whenever (someone) needs it. Her ability to bounce back is something that I’ve always really admired about her.”

Mrs. Anyzeski said she is a “work in progress” and that “it’s okay not to be perfect.” Her mantra is a reminder to stay true to herself and her values as a teacher. 

“One of the greatest lessons is to learn how to solve a problem, to figure it out, make that mistake, and be okay (with it),” Mrs. Anyzeski said. “I kind of wish you (students) (see) yourselves the way that we (teachers) see (you) sometimes.” 

Through her years of teaching and personal growth, Mrs. Anyzeski has learned to embrace every part of herself. “I’m perfectly imperfect, and I’m okay with that,” Mrs. Anyzeski said with a smile.