Monique Colizzi Awarded Excellence in Education Award
Monique Colizzi, Instructor of Business & Risk Management at the Wilson Talent Center (WTC) was recently awarded an Excellence in Education Award from the Michigan Lottery and Fox 47 News – WSYN. Colizzi is in her twenty-second year of teaching, with the last eight at the WTC. Colizzi was nominated for the award by a former student.
“Monique’s passion for the curriculum she teaches and for her students does not go unnoticed,” states Joe Wenzel, Principal at the WTC. “We are not surprised at all that a former student nominated her for this award. As a career & technical education teacher, she is preparing students for their next steps in life and making sure they have multiple options to succeed, whether that means heading directly into the workforce or moving on to college,” Wenzel also noted.
The Michigan Lottery established the Excellence in Education awards in 2014 to recognize outstanding public-school educators across the state during the school year. Winners of the weekly award receive a $2,000 cash prize. At the end of the school year, one of the weekly winners will be selected to receive the Lottery’s Educator of the Year award and will receive a $10,000 cash prize.
Excellence in Education nominees are evaluated on the following criteria:
- Excellence – their work consistently helps students and/or their schools or school districts advance to higher levels of academic achievement.
- Dedication – they consistently go above and beyond expectations to help students succeed.
- Inspiration – their work inspires others around them to exceed expectations either academically or professionally.
- Leadership – they demonstrate clear leadership skills in their positions with their school or school districts.
- Effectiveness – the nominee’s work has clear and positive results on the educational advancement of students within the school or school district.
Colizzi was inspired to become an educator by her late father, who was a respected educational leader. Her hope is to impact her students the same way her father did, by advocating for them. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Davenport University and a master’s degree from Western Michigan University.
The Wilson Talent Center, operated by Ingham Intermediate School District, offers career and technical education programs for high school juniors and seniors who reside in Dansville, East Lansing, Haslett, Holt, Leslie, Mason, Okemos, Stockbridge, Waverly, Webberville and Williamston. Applications are also accepted from Lansing School District, Fowlerville Community Schools and Eaton and Clinton County Schools. For more information, visit Wilson Talent Center.
