Two Issaquah Teachers Honored at CenturyLink Field Celebration

The Seattle Seahawks and Bellevue-based Symetra Financial gave special recognition to 24 Puget Sound-area teachers last weekend — including two from Issaquah schools — at a special celebration at CenturyLink Field.
 
Issaquah Middle School's Liz Villa and Tiger Mountain High School's Lane Helgeson were honored Friday afternoon, May 24 as the 2012 Symetra Heroes in the Classroom (teachers are selected at the end of each NFL season). Financial services company Symetra has sponsored the Heroes in the Classroom since 2006. Teachers receive a $350 Office Max gift card for classroom supplies and tickets to a Seahawks home game, where they are acknowledged during on-field presentations at CenturyLink Field. In addition, Symetra makes a $1,000 donation to each teacher Hero’s school.
 
Jim Pirak, Symetra SVP, Marketing, and Mike Flood, Seattle Seahawks VP, hosted a luncheon in the Coach’s Loft, welcoming the teachers, their school principals and special guests, including Shoreline School District Superintendent Sue Walker and Shauna Heath, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Seattle Public Schools.
 
Following lunch, the teachers received an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium, which included taking in a view of the field from the press box. The festivities wrapped up in the Seahawks locker room, where each teacher was surprised with a “customized” locker complete with nameplate. Each teacher’s locker’s contents included a plaque commemorating his or her “Heroes” award and a copy of the May 24 edition of the Seattle Times, which featured a ¼-page ad saluting all 24 Symetra Heroes in the Classroom recipients.
 
Seahawks Left Tackle Russell Okung was a special guest, joining the teachers and guests in the players’ locker room. Okung shared a very personal story about his fourth grade teachers Mrs. Howell and Mrs. Cook. “Those two teachers, they believed in me,” he said. “They took me aside and they took that extra step to get me right. They had a level of belief in me that I didn’t have in myself. The patience they showed in me paid off.”