Next time you run into Gina Benz from Roosevelt High School make sure you pat her on the back and say congratulations!

Gina is an English teacher over at Roosevelt, and she's also the winner of the 2015 Milken Educator Award.

The Milken award honors educators nationwide whose contributions generally go unrecognized.

This year's award was presented to Benz during a surprise ceremony at Roosevelt on Tuesday afternoon, October 20. Along with the award, she received a $25,000 prize for furthering excellence in education.

Benz teaches advanced placement language and composition as well as foundations of language and composition, a class that includes English language learners and special education students.

According to Senior vice president of the Milken Educator Awards, Jane Foley, Benz is known for having "a steady demeanor and is a model of character and integrity."

South Dakota educators are no strangers when it comes to the Milken Educator Award, since the state joined the awards program back in 2002, a total of $450,000 has been awarded to 18 South Dakota recipients.

Source: Rapid City Journal

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