The weekly Excellence In Education award from the Michigan Lottery was won by a Midland County educator known for identifying and utilizing her student’s strengths. Connie Beson-Steger is the latest award winner and is a high school social studies teacher at Midland High School.
Beson-Steger says she pursued a career in education after an experience teaching in Japan, where she says she loved teaching young people and sharing her culture with her students. However, once she returned to the U.S., she decided to pursue her second degree in teaching instead of going to law school.
Beson-Steger says she’s motivated by the energy her students bring to class daily. She explained that she enjoys working with young people and considers it a gift that she can teach them.
The winner earned bachelor’s degrees from Michigan State University and Saginaw Valley State University and completed her master’s degree at Saginaw Valley State University. She’s been in her current position for seven years and has been an educator for 23 years.
Nominees for the weekly Excellence in Education award are evaluated on these criteria:
Excellence – Helping students and schools advance their academic achievement levels.
Dedication – Working tirelessly to help students succeed.
Inspiration – Inspiring others to exceed their professional and academic expectations.
Leadership – Demonstrating clear leadership qualities in their current position with their schools.
Effectiveness – Their work has shown clear and positive results in helping to advance the education of students within their school or school district.
All K-12 public school educators can be nominated for the award on the Michigan Lottery website, where the nomination form can be completed with the person’s full name and explaining why you think they qualify to win the award.
The Excellence In Education award was established by the Michigan Lottery in 2014 and recognizes exceptional public school educators across Michigan throughout the school year. Weekly award winners receive a plaque, $1,500 in cash and a $500 grant for their classroom, school, or school district. In addition, one weekly winner will also be selected as Educator of the Year and win an award of $10,000 cash.
Winners will also be featured in a news segment on Michigan Lottery media partner stations WXYZ in Detroit, FOX 47 in Lansing, FOX 17 in Grand Rapids and WNEM-TV in Saginaw.
