It's official: Nenana teacher joins network of national award winners

Her win was a tightly kept secret until December 2024 when it was announced at a surprise school assembly at Nenana City School.

For the longest time, it didn’t seem real, she said. But that all changed after she attended the awards forum in Los Angeles this month.

“They’re really creating a network of like-minded people and encouraging each other to be the best teachers they can be,” she said.

She didn’t know what to expect at the forum, where all the winners came together. What she discovered is she now has access to expertise nationwide that can help both build her confidence and help her achieve educational goals at a higher level.

In addition to her local support system, she now has a national support system, she said.

Snyder and her husband Mark Hornberger, who is also a teacher at Nenana City School, came to Nenana in 2020 from Myanmar (formerly Burma) in Southeast Asia. Before that, they served in the Peace Corps, teaching in Ethiopia. She is originally from Pennsylvania.

In Nenana she began as a first/second-grade teacher and then transitioned into the role of reading interventionist and instructional coach.

The Milken Family Foundation honors up to 45 educators, coast to coast, every year. Earlier this month, Snyder and the other honorees gathered at the national Milken Educator Awards Forum at UCLA for a celebration of their continued excellence and leadership inside and outside the classroom.

Milken Educator Awards founder Lowell Milken hosted the event. In addition to the cash award, Snyder received lifetime membership to the national Milken Educator Network, powerful mentorship and professional development opportunities, and access to a brain trust of more than 3,000 Milken educators working to shape the future of K-12 education.

“He is really a visionary,” said Snyder, of Lowell Milken. “He could do anything with that amount of money but he is choosing to support teachers.”

All the honorees coming together in one place was powerful, she said.

“Everyone in the room was a problem solver,” she said. “You could feel different energy. It’s something that can’t always be replicated. They want to solve problems.”

They also all supported each other, she added.

“It was really empowering,” she said. “It’s how I feel humankind should be.”

Lowell Milken said he honored the achievements of these educators, “who dedicate their lives to providing students with the high-quality education they need and deserve.”

“We shine a spotlight on these extraordinary change agents so that when they return to their communities, they will know that their impact is not only noticed but also treasured,” he said.”We hope they will continue to inspire other talented young people to join the adventure of teaching and serve as a beacon of excellence for future generations.”

This year’s forum theme was “3,000 Strong and Making an Impact.” The forum also marked the 3,000th person to be honored with a Milken Educator Award since the awards began nearly four decades ago.

Snyder’s biography on the Milken Educator website describes the Nenana schoolteacher as a fixture in Nenana’s tight-knit community, building strong relationships with student and their families. She organizes field trips and coordinates a monthly literacy cafe event for students and parents. She also provides reading help for students in need. The biography includes a long list of her achievements.

Created by philanthropist and education visionary Lowell Milken in 1987, the Milken Educator Awards represent America’s preeminent educator recognition initiative, inspiring educators, students and communities to “Celebrate, Elevate and Activate” the K-12 teaching profession. More than $75 million has been invested in the Milken Educator Award national network overall.