To say John Cox influenced Michael DiLuzio to pursue teaching as a career is an understatement.
A senior at Boston College, DiLuzio was a junior in Cox's history class at Waltham High in 2004.
"He's just a tremendous teacher. He has a great knowledge of his subjects, but his passion is off the charts," the 2005 graduate said. "He challenges kids ... it's not just the teaching, he's involved in so many things in school. There's always a line of kids asking him for recommendations, asking for advice."
Cox recently received the 2008 Exemplary Teachers Award from the Lynch School of Education at Boston College. DiLuzio nominated his former teacher for the honor.
Cox was one of three educators from across the country to receive the award on Oct. 2 at the 9th annual Lynch School of Education Symposium Series.
"It's really a special award because it comes from a student. We have so many good teachers at the high school and in the city of Waltham," Cox said. "You might see a kid that says you really helped me. I think it's great for any teacher when you realize that you were able to help a student and give them a little direction."
Cox has been teaching history at Waltham High since 1981. Now the former mentor and student interact on very different terms.
"Now he's a student-teacher here," Cox said of DiLuzio. "It's nice to see a former student go into teaching, particularly when it's someone who goes into teaching history. He's really into it ... he's going to be a real good teacher. He has a love for teaching and a love for history."
DiLuzio said he began an apprenticeship at Waltham High School this year.
"It's a different dynamic," DiLuzio said about his new relationship with Cox. "It's kind of like you're colleagues but you're not colleagues yet. It's really fun to see what's behind the scenes. It's really rewarding to see how much goes into it because you don't really know what goes into teaching a class when you're the student."
In his nominating essay, DiLuzio said Cox convinced him to apply to Boston College and influenced his decision to pursue a teaching career.
"It was not, however, his teaching abilities that had the biggest impact on me," DiLuzio wrote in his nomination letter. "It was his ability to instill confidence in me, a confidence that I never felt before."
Also honored were Jane Seminara, a theology teacher at Arlington Catholic High School in Arlington and Laura Piano, an advanced placement Spanish teacher at Randolph High School in Randolph, N.J.
Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or at jgilbrid@cnc.com
