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State to Honor Two UNC Students as Top Teacher Candidates

UNC students award

May 4, 2017

Update 5/12/17: View event photos and a recap of the event.

May 4, 2017 — Two University of Northern Colorado students will be recognized among the state's top teacher candidates by the Colorado Department of Higher Education.

Amie Bray and Joel Suarez-Ramirez, who were nominated by UNC faculty, were selected to the department's Aspiring Educator Honor Roll. They and other top students from Colorado's 22 educator programs will be honored during a ceremony May 8 at the Capitol in Denver to kick off Teacher Appreciation Week. CDHE Executive Director Dr. Kim Hunter Reed will give remarks beginning at 1:45 p.m. in the West Lobby of the Capitol.

Bray, who has been interested in becoming a teacher since elementary school, is currently working toward her degree in Mathematics with an emphasis in Secondary Education. She is a recipient of the College of Natural and Health Sciences' Academic Scholars Award, and is an active member in Mortar Board, a national honors society for seniors.

"Amie is a truly outstanding student, with a passionate desire to learn all that she can, both mathematically and pedagogically, in order to be ready to be the best teacher that she can be," UNC Math Professor Steven Leth said in his letter nominating her for the CDHE honor.

Suarez-Ramirez is a teacher-licensure candidate in the secondary science program. His interest in teaching and science started at a young age. As a teen, he worked with children at summer camps in Carbondale. The junior is a department scholar in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. He is a member of UNC's concert band and speaks English, French and Spanish, having grown up in a Spanish-speaking household. He plans to go to graduate school before one day leading a school.

"He is always prepared, always completes tasks on time, and always is a student others chase in terms of academic excellence," Oceanography Professor William Hoyt said in his nominating letter. "He is probably the strongest candidate I have seen in our program in over 25 years."

For more information about the Aspiring Educator Honor Roll 

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