2016 Bridge Academy of Excellence Winners!

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We had a great response from the students in Doña Ana County this year!  Over 1500 nominations were submitted by students for a teacher who has made a positive impact in their life.  The Bridge Board had a very difficult task of narrowing down all the nominations to only nine finalists.  This year we had two top winners and all nine finalists were eligible for the cruise drawing.  The following winners were announced at a reception on May 20 at La Posta de Mesilla:

  • First Place:  Victoria Gier, Fairacres Elementary, won $1000
  • Second Place:  Emmanuel Burciaga, Gadsden High School, won $1000
  • Cruise Winner:  Brenda Carr, Hatch Valley High School

The remaining six finalists were awarded $250 each:

  • Ronald Bailey, Santa Teresa High School
  • Melody Hagaman, Centennial High School
  • Omar Hernandez, Hatch Middle School
  • Carla Rosales, Hillrise Elementary
  • Michelle Senoski, Mesa Middle School
  • Virginia Smith, Camino Real and Mesa Middle Schools

The nine finalists from left to right are: Emmanuel Burciaga, Omar Hernandez, Victoria Gier, Carla Rosales, Ronald Bailey, Melody Hagaman, Virginia Smith, Brenda Carr, and Michelle Senoski

Thank you to all the students who took the time to nominate their teachers!  Thank you also to the following businesses and individuals:

  • Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino, for the generous donation so that we may let our teachers now how much we appreciate them
  • Wanda Mattiace, The Bridge Teacher Recognition Campaign Chair and owner of Adventure Travel, for the donation of the cruise
  • Dr. Karen Trujillo, NMSU Director of K-12 Outreach for The Alliance for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, and other faculty for the countless hours spent organizing and previewing nominations
  • La Posta de Mesilla for the reception venue and the very tasty food
  • Barb’s Flowerland for flowers

Congratulations again to all nine inductees into the The 2016 Bridge Academy of Excellence!