The nominees for the 2018 Rockwood Outstanding Service in Education (ROSE) Awards, a prestigious award dedicated to Rockwood community members, have been released

After the ROSE Award nominees have been announced, teachers look back on their careers.

There will only be 15 winners of the award out of the upward of 200 nominations submitted for teachers throughout Rockwood.

Nominations were submitted with stories of the teacher displaying excellence in character and leadership. This list was narrowed down to about 140 names on the official list posted around the school.

Lafayette has five nominees including Laura Holzen, Sue Jessen, Jon Sumner, Sarah Trankle and Barbara Zibits. Sumner, social studies teacher and wrestling coach said being nominated is a huge honor.

“It is truly an honor, as I know there are so many people in our great school district that do great things for our students,” Sumner said.

His career was greatly inspired by his parents. Both of them worked in education and influenced his goals.

“Both of my parents were in education and loved their jobs. I have seen my father interact with his students over the years and saw how great of an impact he had on their lives as he saw them over the years, and I wanted to have a similar impact on the world,” Sumner said.

The winners will be notified in early March. Co-chairs of the event will surprise them with the award.

On May 6 the recipients will be honored. Cornerstone, Teacher of the Year, Service Award and Retiree honorees will also be honored at the event.

For the teachers though, teaching isn’t about the awards. Sumner describes his favorite memory as just seeing his students grow.

“Everything, working with kids on a daily basis in the classroom and in athletics and I love when alumni come back and check in and tell me about their lives. It is awesome to see where kids end up after they leave here,” Sumner said.

Teachers are not the only staff who could be nominated though. The list includes teachers, parents, nurses, bus drivers, secretaries and other community members.