High school principal Debreon Davis (OK ’17) sees meeting the varied learning needs of thousands of students as her biggest challenge: “Keeping kids from flying under the radar is something I work to combat every day.”
Dawn McLain (AR ’17) defines success as never giving up, reaching goals she once thought impossible, and “knowing that I made a difference in the lives of my students.”
Teaching got easier for Allison Felton (MD ’17) when she realized how much her students’ home lives differed from her own background: “I realized that they needed someone to listen to them.”
When students tell Dan Adler (MA ‘17) they’re interested in teaching, his first reaction is unbridled joy: “That means they see something they love in their day-to-day school experience, and my colleagues and I are doing something good for them.”
To keep classic literature relevant to students’ lives, Lauren Hopkins (RI ‘17) includes contemporary songs, young adult literature and discussions of parental pressure in her lessons: “Romeo and Juliet, no longer just characters in a drama, become relatable teenagers fighting to be loved and understood.”
Heidi Albin (KS '17) credits her fifth-grade teacher, Milken Educator Gary Bloemker (CO '94), for passing on his passion for education and influencing her teaching style: “He was the best teacher I ever had, and he showed me how to love school and love students.”
During her first year of teaching, Aja Brown (NY ‘17) was overjoyed and inspired by her students’ keen interest in the biology of diseases: “I have tried to recreate that feeling in every lesson since.”
Math teacher Brooke Powers (KY ‘17) will use some of her Milken Award to take her kids on a special summer trip as thanks for attending her students’ sporting events, watching her grade papers and playing in her classroom while she preps: “It is not always easy to be a teacher’s kid.”
Katherine Watkins (TN ‘17) decided to try teaching after a chance encounter with her former AP Literature teacher at the post office: “What began as an experiment has proven to be one of the best decisions of my life.”
Aaron Ferguson (CA ‘17) credits his students’ hard work as much as his own for his Milken Award: “I tell them that success like that occurs when a bunch of talented people get together and choose to do something great.”
