Alumni honor teacher of year

Laurie Pfaffenberger, a teacher in the social studies department at Columbus North High School, received the inaugural Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award from the Bull Dog Alumni Association.

The award and three scholarships were presented May 20 during an awards convocation at Columbus North High School.

Pfaffenberger received a stipend of $1,000. She has been a member of the social studies department for 29 years, and this past year she taught psychology and advanced psychology.

Students had the opportunity to nominate one of their teachers online and give an explanation of why the teacher is outstanding. Twenty-nine teachers were nominated, some more than once. A committee made the selection from the list of nominees.

The scholarship recipients were:

  • Lillyanne Pham, seventh annual Samuel P. Simmermaker Journalism & Communications Scholarship of $1,000.
  • Annelise Guenther, fifth annual John Johnson Studio Productions Scholarship of $1,000.
  • Tina Nguyen, second annual Michael P. Garber Memorial Scholarship of $500.