El Camino Teacher is Educator of the Year

Fifth-year social studies teacher Michael Zozos was honored with the California League of High Schools Educator of the Year award for the Bay Area region at an awards ceremony Thursday night.

Zozos, 27, who teaches Advanced Placement world history, modern world history and AVID, said he was surprised by the award.

“I’m humbled and honored, really, because this is only my fifth year of teaching, so I almost feel like an imposter sometimes,” Zozos said.

Zozos was one of ten finalists nominated for the award. He’ll be further recognized at the California League of High Schools conference in Sacramento in February, where he’ll be eligible to win the Educator of the Year Award for the state of California.

“It’s something pretty special,” Zozos said. He said his favorite part of being a teacher is making connections with students.

“It’s really important to build those foundations because if a student doesn’t enjoy coming to your class, they’re not going to learn anything,” he said. “But if you can hook them, if you can get them excited to be in the room, the chances of them absorbing the material really increases.”