Tuesday, February 14, 2006

For the fourth year in a row, an MBA teacher has been named a Teacher of Excellence by the Adventist Alumni Awards Foundation (AAA).

Steve Walls, who is in his 39th year at MBA and a longtime student favorite, has been honored with the award that includes a check for $1000 and a free trip to Arizona for the annual AAA awards presentation.

“I’m delighted to be selected for this award,” Walls said. “When you realize that only 10 teachers in the entire North American Division receive this award it’s quite humbling.”

Each year the teachers who are being recognized receive their awards at a banquet in their honor, which will also feature a short multi-media biography of each teacher. The teachers are nominated through their respective Conference Offices of Education and Walls is the fourth MBA teacher in a row to be recognized. He follows Bob and Betty Baerg, who are now retired, and Tim Kubrock, who received the award last year as MBA’s history teacher and now serves as the school principal.

“Mr. Walls is definitely deserving of this recognition. He is truly an outstanding teacher of excellence,” Kubrock said. “He’s the kind of teacher that makes MBA a great school.”

Walls has been on staff at MBA since 1967, when he was hired as a taskforce dean. By his second year, he was a full time English teacher and a popular faculty member. He’s been recognized before, receiving the MBA Alumni Association Faculty of the Year Award and the Zapara Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1994. Through his many years at MBA, Walls has taught thousands of students, including the sons and daughters of former students and several current MBA staff.

“All of my favorite memories of working at MBA involve my students,” Walls said. “I love watching the transformation that takes place from the freshman to the senior year. Being a positive influence in a young person’s life is very rewarding. It’s why I do what I do.”

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