Every year, one lucky journalism teacher is named Journalism Educator of the Year by Youth Journalism International. The award is presented to an educator who goes above and beyond to aid their students and teach them how to be journalists.

Along with the prestigious title comes a crystal trophy honoring the educator. The award is a huge honor as any teacher from any country can be nominated.

While our journalism teacher did not win, he was a finalist for the title; an honor that only two other educators worldwide received this year.

“I think it’s a great honor,” explained Rob Lindquist, journalism teacher at TJ. “There were only three finalists named for the award, so to even be considered brings me a lot of joy.”

Along with the winner, two finalists are honored by Youth Journalism International. While they don’t receive a trophy, being a finalist for the award is a huge honor.

To receive the award (or be a finalist), an educator must be nominated by past and/or current students. The nomination process is entirely up to the students as it’s their nominations that determine the overall winner.

“The kids do all of the work, and deserve all of the credit for the work they do,” elaborated Lindquist. “My role is to facilitate, and hopefully spark some interest for future journalists.”

Despite his modesty, Lindquist truly deserves this nomination, and we, as a journalism class, highly value him.

“Mr. Lindquist was a great candidate for the award because he was not just a teacher; he didn’t just follow a curriculum and send us out to do our work. He helped guide us, understood us, and worked with us to produce stories and motivate us to continue with journalism,” explained Chloe Brooks, the TJ journalism student that nominated Lindquist.

“I can’t even begin to imagine all the people he has impacted with his time at TJ,” Brooks continued, “I can only hope he carries the same thought and determination to his journey at AL.”

Lindquist definitely deserved this nomination. While it’s bittersweet, it’s fitting that we can end the year on this high before Lindquist goes on to AL next fall. While he will be greatly missed here, we can only assume he will continue to do more great things.

Lindquist was also named a Finalist in 2016.