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The educational roots of the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) run deep.  

In 1911, the institution, which began its life as the State Normal School of Colorado in 1889, was formally redesignated as the Colorado State Teachers College. In 1935, it was again renamed, becoming the Colorado State College of Education, at Greeley.  

Not until 1970 did the school officially become the University of Northern Colorado. And although the institution now boasts a robust catalog of courses in the performing arts, business, the humanities, natural and health sciences and more, its commitment to being an outstanding school for developing educators has never changed.  

But today鈥檚 national landscape is one in which teachers face new and unique challenges. A Pew xxx直播 study from April 2024 shows . Additionally, according to Education Week in 2025, 86% of public schools are struggling to hire educators. This begs the question; how do we continue to prepare new teachers to step up to the plate?  

Are the challenges they鈥檙e facing insurmountable? 

For Sidney Cerise, 鈥�13, Ed.S. 鈥�20, a math teacher at Early College Academy (ECA) in Greeley-Evans School District 6, the answer is a resounding no. 

鈥淚鈥檝e certainly experienced those kinds of challenges,鈥� Cerise said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檝e felt them every year, not just recently. And it鈥檚 our job as educators to adapt to our students and to make sure we鈥檙e giving them the education they need.鈥� 

And adapt, she has. Cerise recently won the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and xxx直播 Teaching (PAEMST). It is the top honor bestowed by the U.S. Government to K-12 STEM teachers, and Cerise is one of only 336 educators nationwide to receive the honor as a part of this cohort. She applied in early 2023, discovered she was a finalist in March of that same year, and finally learned that she had won the award in January of this year. 

Just like her alma mater, Cerise has deep roots as an educator. Inspired by the outstanding math teachers she had growing up in Fort Morgan, as well as her mother, who also worked in education, Cerise set out on the path to becoming a teacher at a young age.  

After graduating high school, she earned her bachelor鈥檚 degree in Mathematics from UNC in 2013. She left to pursue her master鈥檚 in Mathematics Education at the University of Idaho, then returned to UNC to earn her Education Specialist in Educational Leadership in 2020.  

鈥淸My time at] UNC prepared me for teaching in a variety of ways,鈥� Cerise said. 鈥淲hile I was there for my undergrad, the most influential teacher for me was Dr. Hortensia Soto. She was so inspiring, pushing me to become a strong, female math educator.鈥� 

While at UNC, Soto founded and directed Las Chicas de Matem谩ticas: UNC Summer Math Camp for Young Women, which ran from 2008 to 2014. Cerise was a camp counselor for the program during her undergrad years, and said the experience was one of the mostformative for her at UNC.  

鈥淭hat too, was incredibly inspiring,鈥� she said. 鈥淎t the time, I didn鈥檛 really know the Greeley community that well, and that camp really opened my eyes to this wonderful community and the people in it, and it was amazing. Those experiences鈥�were a huge part of what inspired me to stick around and become a teacher in District 6.鈥� 

Twelve years later, she鈥檚 still here.  

Like many teachers, Cerise鈥檚 journey hasn鈥檛 been without its challenges. Her first teaching position was at Franklin Middle School in Greeley, and it tested her mettle as a newly-minted educator.  

鈥淩ight when I started, I got put on a team with three veteran teachers who had been teaching for around 15 years each,鈥� Cerise said. 鈥淚 was fresh from UNC, and I remember those teachers telling me, 鈥榞ood luck, we鈥檒l see if you can make it through the semester.鈥� And I remember just thinking, 鈥榦h, man.鈥欌��  

Despite that daunting introduction, Cerise stuck with it. During the four years she spent at the school, she formed close bonds with her fellow teachers and helped put Franklin on the path to consideration as a School of Performance, the .  

鈥淔ranklin made me the teacher I am today,鈥� she said. 鈥淏eing able to work with those kids who had a lot of odds going against them was so rewarding. It was rough sometimes, of course, but seeing the progress those kids were capable of making was incredible.鈥� 

After leaving Franklin in 2018, Cerise took a position as a math teacher at Early College Academy. She has spent the past seven years there, helping students learn math, developing her curriculum, serving as a department chair, student council sponsor and more.  

As she continued to work, people began to take notice.  

 John Fischer, K-12 math coordinator for District 6, saw the passion and care Cerise brought to the classroom and encouraged her to apply for the PAEMST in 2023. 

鈥淪idney has a relentless drive for excellence packaged in a calm demeanor,鈥� Fischer said. 鈥淪he puts her students at ease as they take on challenging mathematics, gives them encouragement and support and consistently pushes them to dig deeper. She has a firm belief that her students are capable of doing great things, and that belief is realized through her interactions with them both in and outside of the classroom.鈥� 

Clearly, he wasn鈥檛 the only one who could see that.  

The distinguished mathematics and science educators on the awards panel and the White House Office of xxx直播 and Technology agreed, and in 2025, Cerise became the first teacher in District 6 history to receive a PAEMST. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 very humbling, and I鈥檓 deeply honored to receive this award,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hat it tells me is that we鈥檙e doing something right here in District 6, because everything I have been given by our administration, by our district, by our school board, I鈥檝e taken it wholeheartedly and ran with it. And the outcome has been this wonderful national recognition, so we鈥檙e doing something right.鈥� 

But Cerise isn鈥檛 resting on her laurels. Her plans for the future include stepping into the role of principal one day, with a focus on coaching her fellow educators and helping teachers throughout the district build their confidence and educational abilities. 

And in the middle of it all, amid highs and lows, challenges and recognitions, she鈥檚 hanging on to her love for what she does.  

鈥淲e do hear a lot about the challenges and the negativity, but more than anything, I want to highlight the positivity of teaching and call out how wonderful our students are,鈥� Cerise said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e showing up and learning to the very best of their abilities. Teaching is still fun, and it鈥檚 so, so rewarding.鈥�