Shane Strubhart, Teacher of the Year 2007 Harlingen South High School

December, 2007
A teacher who makes a difference in the lives of his students goes beyond the boundaries of a classroom period. Shane Strubhart is this kind of teacher. The instruction he gives is in the career and technology education department at Harlingen South High School, where he teaches computer maintenance. But for Shane, teaching doesn’t end when the bell rings.

Shane Strubhart has opened a chapter of Skills USA and his students have competed and advanced to the state level in Networking and Computer Maintenance, as well as in leadership competition. In 2006 and 2007, he had students advance to the Skills USA National competition, and one student placed 5th in the nation in 2007.

This outstanding teacher also started a Rocket Club last year. The students in the Harlingen High School South Rocket Club competed against 700 clubs nationwide and became one of the “Top 100” competing at the national level. These students went on to be one of the “Top 25” teams in the nation, qualifying them for NASA’s Student Launch Initiative program. This would never have happened without the dedicated leadership provided by this outstanding teacher.

Shane Strubhart’s background prepared him to be dynamic in the classroom. He has completed the type of education experiences we promote in Tech Prep, moving from a technical associate degree from TSTC into a BS in applied technology from UTB. He also has industry experience in the field, and he brings this package of education and real-world experience into the classroom as he works with his students.

It is a pleasure for Tech Prep to recognize outstanding individuals like Shane Strubhart with a “Tech Prep Teacher of the Year” award. We are grateful that Joy Hoeflinger, Career and Technology Department Chair at Harlingen High School South, nominated Shane so that we could have the pleasure of presenting him with this honor!