‘Pay it back to these programs;’ Two Upper Valley Career Center teachers win national prizes

PIQUA, Miami County — Two teachers at the Upper Valley Career Center in Piqua received a major surprise Tuesday morning.

>>PHOTOS: Two Upper Valley Career Center teachers win national teaching prizes

Andy Buehler and Konner Keller both applied for a national teaching prize from Harbor Freight’s Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence, and they both won.

Between the two of them, they were awarded $150,000 to recognize their work in skilled trades education.

More than 1,000 teachers applied for the award money.

Buehler has been an automotive teacher at the career center for 6 years and is one of the five to win the grand prize and receive $100,000.

“I was pretty surprised with the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools program, I’ve been trying a couple of years now to get into it,” Buehler said.

He will receive $30,000 and the school will receive $70,000.

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Keller is a manufacturing teacher and is one of 20 educators to win $50,000.

He will receive $15,000 and the school will receive $35,000.

“I take a lot of pride in my work and… students, you know, they motivate me to do well in this career,” Keller said.

In total, the Upper Valley Career Center’s high school skilled trades program will receive $105,000.

“It just benefits the kids you know that money is going to go directly back to the students and it’s just going to help them out. I see a lot of students that come in here and they can’t afford the tools. And it was just a great way for Harbor Freight Tools to help, kind of pay it back to the community and pay it back to these programs,” Keller said.

Both teachers thought about their students as soon as they were presented with their checks.

“Student-wise, I’m going to use a good chunk of that to help them out. Get them into the industry. my portion I might build a bigger workshop,” Buehler said.

This year, Harbor Freight Tools for Schools is awarding $1.5 million in prizes to 25 skilled trades teachers nationwide.

“I just want to give them that opportunity to be raised like I was raised, and you know, just to be successful,” Keller said.

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