WCCO news awarded Blake Jorgensen with the Excellent Educator award for helping students break out of their shells to become confident, well-spoken public speakers. Mr. Jorgensen teaches language arts and speech at MTCS high school and was nominated for the award by his student and her mother.

Earning recognition from his students and their parents carries the most weight in Mr. Jorgensen’s eyes, and he feels honored to receive this award.

“I’m proud of my students when they show courage and speak in front of class, but my favorite moments are when students are proud of themselves,” said Mr. Jorgensen.

Upon entrance of the WCCO reporters, he felt surprised, but also touched. Mr. Jorgensen likes teaching because every day is different. He also likes to interact with people and build relationships with the students he teaches.

Mr. Jorgensen decided to pursue teaching because he had several influential teachers when he was a student. His most inspirational teacher was Mrs. Williams, his high school English teacher, because she was authentic and shared his passion for language arts. Mrs. Williams inspired him to become an English teacher, and he has been teaching for four years.