When Andrew Miner broke his leg back in the fall of 2011, life looked bleak. Quarterback of the East Greenwich High School football team, the sophomore Miner saw his season disappear before his eyes.

Then he got an email from his English teacher, Marc Brocato. Write about this experience, Brocato told him. And so Miner did. He took all the emotion and distilled it into something real. It arrived in my email inbox just a couple days after he broke his leg. I was amazed by his speed but even more because the piece was so well written.

For Miner, that’s because of “Mr. Brocato,” who he continues to run his writing past before submissions, whether for publication or a college application.

That is, except for when he nominated Brocato for the Barnes & Noble “My Favorite Teacher” award. Miner did that one all by himself. And it worked – Brocato won for Rhode Island. He was honored at the Barnes & Noble in Warwick Tuesday night. The Rhode Show taped an interview with both Brocato and Miner that aired Wednesday – find it here.

Congratulations, Mr. Brocato!

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