"I was Edmond Muskie and I went down in defeat in a blaze of glory, I remember that," said Coley, a Republican from Liberty Twp. "It was just something that really sparked a passion inside of me to try to hold elected office later in life."
Coley talked about his teacher on the Senate floor on Tuesday afternoon after a serendipitous moment that happened earlier this year that involved his former teacher. She sat in the gallery of the Senate chambers as he talked about his beloved teacher.
While speaking to students at Miami University, he was asked: “What made you want to become a senator?”
Without hesitation he said, “Mrs. Brizzolara.”
He told the students about his grade-school introduction to politics and a day later Coley’s legislative aide asked if he knew a Mrs. Brizzolara. She emailed him, which was prompted because her granddaughter happened to be among those Miami University students.
Coley’s aide read the email “where Mrs. Brizzolara described seeing this round-faced little boy who was every teacher’s dream and she was just so kind,” the lawmaker said on the Senate floor Tuesday.
Though Coley said this was one of those “truth is stranger than fiction” encounters “that Hollywood couldn’t write,” the senator took the opportunity to briefly honor educators on the Senate floor.
“Educators spark the light for so many of us, and I’m very fortunate today to introduce the Senate to the woman who sparked, or fanned, the flames of politics in my heart,” he said.
About the Author
