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Throughout elementary, middle and high school, earning distinction as a member of an honor roll is no small achievement. Students who find themselves on such lists are often those with outstanding grades or exemplary service records 鈥� individuals who have gone above and beyond in some way.  

But as it turns out, a place on the honor roll isn鈥檛 something for just K-12 students to strive for; there鈥檚 one for aspiring teachers too.  

The is a recognition from the Colorado Department of Higher Education that celebrates the state鈥檚 best and brightest teacher candidates 鈥� those educators who are just starting their careers in the field of teaching.   

Each year, the state selects a handful of teacher candidates for recognition on the basis of their past accomplishments in the field of education and their goals and aspirations as future teachers.  

Among the 84 individuals named to the 2025 Future Educator Honor Roll are three University of Northern Colorado (猫咪tv) graduates 鈥� Stephanie Neiberger, 鈥�98, Christian Alvis, 鈥�25 and Teadora Ruiz, 鈥�25.  

Neiberger earned her bachelor鈥檚 degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management, and now applies that knowledge in her second career as a business teacher in northeast Colorado at Sterling High School. According to her bio on the Future Educator Honor Roll, she believes in 鈥渢he value of preparing her students for the workforce through her business classes 鈥� and is passionate about the importance of financial literacy for all.鈥� 

Alvis and Ruiz both graduated this past May and are just starting their post-graduate journeys into the field of education 鈥� heading out into the world of teaching with an accomplishment already under their belts. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 a great honor 鈥� I feel incredibly grateful,鈥� Alvis said. 鈥淚鈥檝e worked hard to make sure that I show up and be the best version of myself for my future students, and a recognition like this really helps with your confidence going into the first year of an intimidating field.鈥� 

Alvis, who graduated with a degree in Elementary Education with a concentration in Educational New Literacies, will begin teaching 4th grade at Shawsheen Elementary in Greeley-Evans School District 6 in the fall. His first foray into teaching came when, at 14, he volunteered at a nonprofit organization in Colorado Springs called Kids on Bikes. That experience stuck with him, and the rest was history.  

鈥淢y philosophy as a teacher boils down to me really wanting to help my students realize their potential,鈥� Alvis said. 鈥淢aking sure that they always have someone who believes in them is so important to me.鈥� 

He credits his time at UNC with helping to prepare him for the rigors and challenges that come with managing a classroom full of students.  

鈥淭he most impactful thing [at UNC] was just how many opportunities we were given to get out and be in the classroom,鈥� Alvis said. 鈥淵ou can learn about it and discuss lesson plans and fundamentals all you want, but there鈥檚 nothing that will teach you how to teach quite as well as being out and actually doing it.鈥� 

Ruiz graduated with a degree in K-12 Arts Education with a concentration in Painting. Long before coming to 猫咪tv, they were already an avid artist. They said the education they received at a young age from the Stanley British Primary School in Denver was fundamental in shaping their approach to teaching. 

鈥淚 want to be that teacher making students feel seen and able to discover their path as artists,鈥� Ruiz said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so fun and rewarding to help people learn and grow.鈥� 

While at UNC, Ruiz said they had the opportunity to work with several impactful professors who encouraged them to be the best they could be.  

鈥淭hey helped me to feel extremely empowered and encouraged,鈥� Ruiz said. 鈥溍ㄟ鋞v has really helped to nourish my identity as both an artist and a teacher.鈥� 

Looking ahead, Ruiz hopes to find a classroom environment that allows them to encourage students to push themselves while feeling seen and supported.  

鈥淭he biggest piece of my teaching philosophy is that art education should be something that everyone has the opportunity to be empowered by,鈥� Ruiz said. 鈥淣ot only does it help develop cognitive function, it鈥檚 so important for self-expression and personal empowerment.鈥� 

In the meantime, Ruiz has gained experience by teaching art classes and workshops at various organizations in the area, including painting with senior residents at Greeley Place - Sky Active Living and putting on art classes at the Murphy Center for Hope in Fort Collins.  

鈥淎ll teacher education faculty members at UNC take quality of our programs and future success of our teacher candidates as the first priority. These two candidates on the state future teacher honor roll are great representatives of many future teachers in our programs,鈥� said Jingzi Huang, director of the School of Teacher Education. 鈥淭he recent full reauthorization of all of 猫咪tv鈥檚 educator preparation programs by the Colorado Department of Education with no identified areas for improvement reveals the deep trust in our programs from various stakeholders across the state. It is our goal to continue to be the state leader in educator education.鈥� 

In keeping with 猫咪tv鈥檚 tradition of excellence in preparing education professionals, several alumni were also recently selected as semifinalists for the .  

According to the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), 22 semifinalists were selected from a pool of 419 applicants from 106 school districts across the state, including the following 猫咪tv graduates: 

• Julie Ahrens, 鈥�19, a kindergarten teacher at Twin Peaks Classical Academy, a charter authorized by St. Vrain Valley School District. 

• Stephen Paulson, 鈥�11, a social studies and AVID teacher at Greeley Central High School in Greeley Evans School District 6. 

• Kendall Van Valkenburg, 鈥�17, an English teacher from Red Canyon High School in Eagle County School District. 

• Le贸n V谩squez, 鈥�88, a seventh-grade science at Drake Middle School in Jeffco Public Schools.  

The semifinalists will move on to the second part of the application process. CDE will announce its 2026 Teacher of the Year finalists in September and name a winner in October. 

Since CDE began recognizing exceptional K-12 classroom teachers in 1963, about 30% of Colorado Teacher of the Year awardees have been 猫咪tv graduates. The most recent recipient was 2024 Colorado Teacher of the Year Jessica May, a middle school teacher at Turner Middle School in Berthoud.