With Cabrera on a golf cart, his students cheered as they brought him to the makeshift stage on campus shortly after Education Commission Rita A. Sablan, acting Gov. Eloy S. Inos and Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan announced his selection.
Cabrera, who is also a performing arts teacher, thanked everyone and told his students: “I believe in you. I believe in your future, I believe in your greatness, I believe in your dreams.”
Commissioner Sablan along with Board of Education Chairwoman Marylou S. Ada, BOE members Lucy Maratita-Blanco and Herman Guerrero, as well as other education officials, were joined by Congressman Sablan and Inos on a school bus that travelled from the PSS office at Marianas High School to SSHS.
Except for the commissioner, nobody else knew who the winner was when the dignitaries left the PSS office.
The school bus also did not travel straight to SSHS. To surprise everybody, the bus had to pass by other schools before heading to SSHS.
The commissioner said that for the last couple of months, the schools worked very hard to identify their nominees.
She said everybody is a winner.
“That is for sure,” she added.
Cabrera was selected by a panel because “he’s a great teacher,” the commissioner said.
He teaches English to 11th and 12th graders.
“He is very talented and he contributes a lot to the school in terms of teaching the language,” Commissioner Sablan said.
She said it was difficult for the panelists to identify the winner because the competition was tight.
“We have a lot of nominees and when it comes to the bottom-line, each school nominated only one. It is becoming very difficult to select the over-all winner because all the nominees are excellent educators,” she added.
Eric Atalig, PSS transportation services program manager, said it was the first time they provided dignitaries a bus ride as part of the celebration of the annual event.
“I am honored that we are able to participate,” he added.
