Immense effort and perseverance: Teacher is recognized as first known Filipino State Teacher of the Year in California

There are about 300,000 teachers currently teaching in the United States. Every year, five of these teachers are selected as State Teacher of the Year.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - A person has a .00033 percent chance of winning this highly sought and prestigious award.

Lovelyn Marquez-Preuher, an eighth-grade teacher at Dodson Middle School in Rancho Palos Verdes, became one of those five honored teachers this year.

Every student deserves a chance to succeed

After overcoming tremendous odds at a young age, Marquez-Preuher knew she wanted to use her life-experiences to change the lives of students.

"I'm absolutely thrilled and honored. It's really a wonderful opportunity to talk to parents, talk to fellow teachers, talk to students all over California about what it's like to be an immigrant, someone who was suspected of having a learning disability, having to overcome those obstacles," said Marquez-Prueher in an article for ABS-CBN News.

She moved to Southern California from the Philippines when she was just nine-years-old.

Marquez-Prueher struggled with English and had a difficult time adjusting to her new home.

"I was suspected of having a learning disability and it wasn't until my 6th grade teacher who advocates for me, saying, 'look at her work samples, look at what she could do'," she said.

In the seventh grade, she realized her destiny was to help others who had trouble with English when she tutored a fellow kababayan.

Utilizing modern methods of teaching, Marquez-Prueher engages her students with technology and face-to-face interactions.

"I use technology to make sure that I have that 'in' to their world to make sure I grab their attention and a lot of times that's not enough," she explained. "Middle school students are very social so I have to give the opportunity for them to talk to each other."

With dedication and motivation, Marquez-Prueher has excelled and is now recognized as the first known Filipino State Teacher of the Year.

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