Chamber Focus … with Cheri Brown: Student and Teacher of the Year will receive recognition at April 3 event

The pandemic has exacerbated mental health issues and 1 in 6 children in California are food insecure

By Cheri Brown

Every year the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce honors community members who made significant contributions to Morgan Hill over the past year. Each year businesses, volunteers, a teacher, and student are honored for their innovations benefitting our town. Given that it’s National Women’s Month, we’ll highlight the 2022 award winner for Teacher of the Year Felicia Gaudin and Student of the Year Gelasia Tiwana, both from Ann Sobrato High School.

English teacher Felicia Gaudin began her career at Sobrato High School in 2018. Theresa Sage, the Ann Sobrato principal says “Ms. Gaudin … holds high expectations for all scholars while simultaneously providing individualized support that empowers them to reach their potential.”

The pandemic has exacerbated mental health issues and 1 in 6 children in California are food insecure. Ms. Gaudin has created an environment for her students that focuses first on their well-being, allowing them to achieve their potential as scholars.

“The classroom is theirs as well as mine,” Gaudin said. She gives students a wall to share about themselves and the students create music playlists to enjoy when working on projects. Gaudin incorporates current events and youth icons like Billie Eilish to keep her students engaged in their English coursework.

Gaudin also leads a Professional Learning Community, with the other staff members to ensure the curriculum keeps students engaged and invested in learning, while achieving the required metrics. Gaudin’s motto embodies her teaching philosophy: “I’m not saying I’m gonna change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will.”

The quote is from the singer Tupac Shakur; it exemplifies how Felicia Gaudin bridges modern and traditional philosophies to help her students achieve their full potential.

Student of the Year Gelasia Tiwana is inspired by a need for change. She sees a world where young women often are held back by stereotypes and envisions of a world where women pursue their dreams. Her goal is to become a neuro-oncologist, she has worked to share her love of the sciences with local high school and middle school students through Girl Stempowerment. She is by nature a curious person, constantly questioning the why.  Her initial interest in Neurology was sparked by the 2015 viral phenomenon “The Dress,” which called into question how differently people can perceive a dress’s color. This curiosity led to one of her recent projects, a workshop on “The Effects of Vaping.”

Her devotion to our community is seen through her continued projects. At the start of the pandemic, she organized South County students to sew masks for ‘Ma(s)king a Difference’ helping alleviate the shortage of PPE. The masks were donated to the Dunne Hill Fire Station, a women’s shelter and Valley Medical Center. Gelasia is also a member of the Morgan Hill branch of AAUW’s Young Women Leaders where she helped organize their annual conference. The conference brings women in leadership positions to present a variety of topics to high school and middle schoolers.

Gelasia is a young woman pursuing her dreams and helping young women see the opportunities available to each of them. Sage said she is “an exemplary young citizen who is destined to go on to great things.”

Please join us in celebrating Gaudin and Ms. Tiwana along with our other honorees from 3 to 7 p.m., April 3 for a vintage garden party at Guglielmo Winery. Tickets are $90 and available at www.morganhillchamber.org/celebrate or by calling the Chamber of Commerce at (408) 779-9444.

Cheri Brown is a board member with the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce.  She is a former executive with a national insurance carrier with decades of experience in Medicare sales and training.  Contact her with your Medicare questions at 408-476-0034 or Email [email protected].