'Parks and Recreation' Star Inspires Shepard AP Students In Video

PALOS HEIGHTS, IL — Students at Alan B. Shepard High School a shot of inspiration from “Parks and Recreation” star Jim O’Heir before their big AP English final exam, which this year they will be taking online at home. Every year, Shepard English teacher Jeff Vazzana finds a celebrity to wish students good luck in their advanced placement exams.

O’Heir fell into his character as the hapless bureaucrat “Garry-Jerry-Larry-Terry-Barry Gergich,” who was often prone to embarrassing his fictional “Parks and Recreation” colleagues.

“I did hear from your awesome teacher what’s going on and that you’re all under a lot of stress, a lot of pressure,” O’Heir said. “You guys are going to nail this.”

O’Heir is a graduate of Thornton Fractional South High School in Lansing, and was active in Chicago’s theater scene during the 1980s and 1990s, when he was part of a six-person improvisational comedy troupe called White Noise.

Vazzana said O’Heir is a friend of Shepard alumni Ryan Budds. He booked O’Heir to greet students through Cameo, a Chicago-based company lets people send personalized shout-outs from celebrities to their friends. Past years’ celebrity greetings to AP students have been from SNL star Melissa Villasenor and Buzzfeed host Keith Habersberger,

“Although it wasn’t free, I love the message, and it was absolutely worth it,” Vazzana said. “Jim O’Heir’s message is definitely getting across to my students, and hopefully, it helps them do better on their tests.