Bruna Recognized as Regional Secondary Business Teacher of the Year
Michelle Bruna, Hanover, recently won the Mountain-Plains Secondary Teacher of the Year award which honors teachers who make outstanding contributions to Business Education. Bruna received the award at the Mountain Plains conference held in Denver, Colorado, June 16-18, 2019.
Bruna is the business/computer instructor at Washington County High School and has been there for 23 years. She has been an active member of the Kansas Business Education Association serving as Northeast Director, president-elect, president, and past president. Along with her service to KBEA, she has presented numerous sessions at the state conference. Other presentations include the Kansas Career and Technical Education Annual Conference, FBLA National Fall Leadership Conference, National Business Educators Association conference and a variety of workshops in her school district. She also taught several extension classes about computers and the internet 10 years ago. She is an active FBLA adviser having multiple state officers and national award winners.
A former student of Bruna’s recently graduated from Kansas State University states, “Mrs. Bruna was persistent to make me succeed and never gave up on me. I took many classes from her and what I learned in these classes I was able to use and apply throughout my college career. To this day, I am so happy that she cared enough to talk me into joining FBLA. She helped me develop from a quiet, shy young man into an outgoing person who is a leader.”
A district board member states, “Michelle makes connections with her students that allows them to have a better learning environment. She pushes her students to do their best and is able to assist them if they run into problems.
Michelle’s professionalism and belief in her students is evident in two statements--”Just try it, if you make a mistake we can fix it” and “We learn more from our mistakes than our successes.”
Bruna lives with her family south of Hanover on the family farm. She is a 1992 graduate of Marysville High School and is the daughter of Terry & Joyce Koch, Marysville.
In the picture, Michelle is on the left and is pictured with Connie Lindell, nominating person.