Illinois Choir Teacher Holds His Last Concert. Then 200 Former Students Came to Sing for Him
They couldn't help but fall in love with their choir teacher.
Some people don’t visit their high school after graduation, but Vince Rossi (@rossirawr) said 200 alumni went to Oak Forest High School in Oak Forest, Illinois, for their retiring choir teacher, Victor Pazik.
“We are going to surprise our choir teacher, who we had from—literally, I had him from sixth grade through twelfth grade,” Rossi told social media. He also added that the event they headed into is Pazik’s retirement concert, which makes it all the more urgent to attend. Although Pazik knew his former students were in attendance, he was completely blindsided by the surprise they had in store for him.
“He used to start every class with ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ by Elvis, but that was not part of his set list today,” Rossi explained. The concert was about to start when the speaker began playing the Elvis song in the background. Then, students who previously attended Pazik’s music classes stood up and started singing along with his current batch of students. Taken aback, Pazik started scanning the crowd, peering into every student’s face.
“Victor Pazik has been teaching choir for over 40 years. My friends and I were lucky enough to call him our mentor,” Rossi said. In total, he said that over 200 alumni showed up for the surprise. Rossi added, “A good teacher can change the trajectory of a student’s life path. Thank you, Mr. Pazik, for being the man we could count on to listen to us and believe in us. Congratulations on your retirement.”
Pazik was speechless, with a hand over his heart. Midway through, the choir teacher visibly held tears back as his students continued to sing. Seeing some faces in the crowd visibly surprised him. But overall, Pazik smiled through the tribute.
A beloved high school teacher
“All alumni came together to sing a song written for the school by students in ’06,” Rossi said. But going back to high school has made Rossi feel older. He said, “One of the kids looked at my tag and said, ‘Oh my god, wait, that’s the year I was born.'” Some look back at their high school memories and see a frenemy from the past, like this woman whose ex-best friend couldn’t wait to see her at her absolute worst. But for this reunion in Oak Forest, students past and present were in solidarity for a memorable retirement send-off for their favorite teacher. When Rossi asked Pazik how he was feeling, Pazik was awed.
“I can’t believe this man came here to celebrate me. I mean, I’m blown away by that,” Pazik commented. The teacher-student duo then exchanged “I love yous” and hugged. But the students of Oak Forest High School were not the only ones teary-eyed about this send-off and school reunion. The video went viral on social media, amassing more than 250,000 likes on TikTok alone.
Some commenters also sent Pazik praise and well-wishes. One comment reads, “Do you know how good of a teacher you have to be in order to have alumni show up at an event?” Others said they started inexplicably crying over the video, even though they didn’t know Pazik personally.
Another social media user said, “He was suddenly flooded with 40 years’ worth of memories all at once.” A good teacher can change lives but also cares about their students’ welfare. One teacher from Michigan keeps a pantry filled with snacks to ensure none of his students are left behind.
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