By Jean Doran Matua, Editor
Back in January 2021, Kimball alumnus Luke Becker received the International Technology and International Technology and Engineering Educators Association Teacher Excellence Award. He also received the ACTE Excellence Award from the Minnesota Association for Career and Technical Education; this put him in the running for the regional award yet to come. 
In March, he received the Minnesota Technology and Engineering Educators Association High School Teacher Excellence Award.
Then in October, Becker was named 2021 ACTE Region III Teacher of the Year. As such, he was one of five finalists for a national award to be announced Nov. 30 at a virtual gala event. Indeed, the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE)named Becker their 2022 ACTE Teacher of the Year.
As we wrote in October, Luke Becker is an Industrial Technology instructor at Braham High School. Becker has worked in education for 11 years, specifically working at Braham High School for 8 years. Becker’s primary goal is to provide students the opportunity to become aware of the potential that they never thought possible, and to show them how to reach that potential through hands-on problem-based instruction. With that objective, Becker has created a program that has opened doors to students and encourages them to explore. Secondarily, Becker strives to always work on actual problem-based solutions and give students a purpose to what they are designing, building, or inventing.
U.S. Senator for Minnesota Amy Klobuchar shared the announcement this week on social media, in what she says is the first of a series of “Constituent of the Week” stories.
“Luke has taught agricultural technology and physics at Braham High School for eight years,” Klobuchar writes, “and during that time his students have gone on to fill a trophy case with awards from prestigious competitions. Braham students also have designed several projects for NASA, further demonstrating Luke’s abilities as an educator and mentor.
“As so many students nationwide continue to struggle with the impacts of prolonged school closures and remote learning, it gives me so much hope to know that there are dedicated educators like Luke Becker out there to get them back on track and help them succeed. He has made Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District, and the entire state of Minnesota, so incredibly proud.”