The votes are in and this year’s Stukent High School Teacher of the Year is…
Teaching Experience: 15+ years
Professional Biography: Keith’s goal as a teacher is to inspire students and instill the values of lifelong learning, critical thinking, collaboration, and interpersonal connection to better prepare them for whatever path their journeys take them on.
Keith’s students would describe him as the teacher who brings a passion for learning and growth, day in and day out — regardless of the subject (and whether or not he has had his coffee!)
Keith started his career in accounting and personal finance, then pursued teaching to help educate and mentor young adults. Since his first day of teaching in 2007, he has taught everything from personal finance to sports management to life skills.
In addition to teaching, Keith also serves as a coach, presenter, and mentor. His genuine compassion for others and desire for continued improvement inspire the environment within his classroom every day.
Special Accomplishments:
District Teacher of the Year, 2012
Stukent Teacher of the Month, April 2022
The following teachers have been nominated to be this year’s Stukent Teacher of the Year.
Teaching Experience: 20+ years
Professional Biography:
Before becoming a teacher, Carol earned her bachelor’s degree in business education from Bloomsburg University and her master’s degree in instructional technology from Rosemont College.
Carol has taught several business electives, including introduction to business, accounting, marketing, and entrepreneurship. She is active in her DECA chapter as an advisor and loves to use realistic projects and activities in her classes. She’s even created her own digital marketing curriculum!
Carol enjoys finding creative ways to engage her students. She implemented a guest speaker program to encourage students to pursue their career interests at a young age.
Special Accomplishments:
Stukent Teacher of the Month, June 2021
Teaching Experience: 7+ years
Professional Biography: After graduating from Fremont High School in 2000, Chris went to Weber State University to earn his teaching degree in social science before returning to his alma mater to become a teacher. He wanted to give back to students in his hometown, supporting them as his teachers had helped him. His passion for teaching and personal finance is contagious. Chris teaches with enthusiasm and authenticity and is committed to being himself in his teaching strategies and approach to his students and material.
Chris takes the time to tell his students that they are valued. He holds his students to high expectations and knows they will each become successful in their own way. Students in his classes may forget some of what they learned, but he strives to ensure they will never forget how they felt in his classroom.
Chris believes success starts with good people and relies on teamwork and trust. According to Chris, having a great group of students is the crucial starting point on the road to success in the classroom. Chris’s goal is to establish a positive environment and ensure every student feels included. He remembers what it was like to struggle in school and treats his students with so much compassion and understanding that they can’t help but know he cares.
Special Accomplishments:
Stukent Teacher of the Month, March 2022
Teaching Experience: 19+ years
Professional Biography: Jodi is a seasoned Career and Technical Education (CTE) educator who goes above and beyond to help her students realize their full potential.
As a CTE teacher, she has taught business, marketing, information technology, family, and consumer science.
In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Jodi serves as the CTE department head, DECA advisor, and is the head coach for the Cascade Sr. High School cross country team. She is also the EPS Business and Professional Services program facilitator, serves on the CTE teacher leadership team, chairs the Business and Professional Services Program Advisory Council, and is a member of the CTE general advisory.
She is also involved with the Washington Association of Marketing Educators (WAME) and holds dual bachelor’s degrees in administrative management and business education. She has a master’s degree in educational technology.
Special Accomplishments:
2021 WA-ACTE Teacher of the Year
Stukent Teacher of the Month, March 2021
Teaching Experience: 6+ years
Bio:
Jesse Zitrin has been teaching high school CTE business courses since 2018, and during distance learning in 2020 joined Benicia High School, where he launched the business and marketing courses that now make up the school’s first-ever CTE Business Management pathway. His prior career, spanning a decade in sports and technology, showed him the importance of under-emphasized skills from interpreting business data to public speaking, while his experience in education leads him to prioritize student choice and authentic projects whenever possible.
This explains the launch of Benicia High’s first student-run store (during what used to be his lunch period!) just this week, and why each class section spends extra time with him refining Stukent’s “Grader” spreadsheet to fit its own chosen business strategy specifications. Mr. Zitrin believes that every young person needs and deserves the tools to see, understand, and redesign the capitalist structures and media environment they inhabit every day.
Special Accomplishments:
Stukent Teacher of the Month, July 2021
Teaching Experience: 12+ years
Professional Biography:
When asked why she chose to become a teacher, Pam responds, “I don’t think I chose it — it chose me.”
Pam remembers how difficult it was to be in high school. That’s why she strives to be someone who helps students navigate potential careers, find their passions, and teach them they can be whoever they choose to be.
Even though it took Pam time to find her path in life, she knew she wanted to have a positive impact on young people. Pam genuinely cares for each of her students and loves to watch them succeed. She credits her students for helping her become the teacher she is today, and she loves them for that fact.
Pam is working on her second master’s degree through Idaho State University in educational leadership.
Special Accomplishments:
Stukent Teacher of the Month, February 2021
Teaching Experience: 9+ years
Professional Biography:
Michelle has held the position of marketing teacher and DECA advisor at Ronald Reagan High School in San Antonio, Texas, since 2013. Her passion for her students’ growth and progress is the hallmark of her teaching style. Like many other marketing teachers, Michelle juggles multiple preps — social media marketing, advertising, sports and entertainment marketing, practicum in marketing, and project-based research. Michelle is widely known for her boundless energy, enthusiasm, and curly hair.
Michelle’s mantra is “Don’t stop being tired,” which is the answer she gave her sales manager at Xerox when they asked her to share the secret to her success. Michelle hasn’t changed that philosophy since she decided to become a teacher.
Michelle now strives to become “teacher-tired,” which is similar to the kind of tired one feels after finishing a marathon — that feeling where you’ve given it your all and couldn’t possibly go any further. It permeates her being. Her contagious energy and enthusiasm help her maintain her students’ interest and engagement. She tells her students that her goal is to help them become better versions of the people who first walked through her classroom door.
Special Accomplishments:
Campus CTE Teacher of the Year: 2017, 2018, 2020
Stukent Teacher of the Month, August 2020
College Tutors of San Antonio’s Educator of the Month, April 2018
Teaching Experience: 4+ years
Professional Biography:
Sabrina worked at Hewlett-Packard (HP) for over 20 years before teaching at Valley Christian High School. While working at HP as a senior director, she always tried to lead her team with authenticity and empathy, which she has carried into her teaching career.
Sabrina teaches her students to be well-informed citizens in her business fundamentals and entrepreneurship classes. She focuses on helping them understand the ins and outs of the business world.
Sabrina shows her students that she truly cares by taking the time to hear what is going on in their lives, supporting them in their struggles, and taking opportunities to help them grow personally and in their learning.
Special Accomplishments:
Stukent Teacher of the Month, August 2021
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