After only teaching for 5 years, Erik Mortensen has been announced as the Watauga High Teacher of the Year. Mortensen is an automotive instructor and the head of the SkillsUSA Chapter here at WHS.
Mortensen never expected to be offered the award and he was extremely grateful to have been chosen by his peers when it was announced.
“[Getting the award] was a shock, to say the least,” he said. “I’m honored that my co-workers and friends thought this much of my work here at the high school. I never expected to be on the finalist list let alone be selected, and I am grateful every day that I was chosen.”
To students like junior Jason Watson, it was obvious why he was chosen.
“He’s a great guy and a great teacher,” Watson said. “He’s a very understanding person and likes to joke around a lot. His class teaches a useful skill, and it’s a class I enjoy.”
Mortensen has been described as an amazing teacher and colleague by many. His favorite part of his job is working with his students.
“The best part is working with great kids,” Mortensen said. “I love to be able to work with students that are eager to learn and quickly become skilled at a new career path while taking my classes. It makes getting up and coming to work rewarding in every sense of the word.”
When he isn’t working as an educator at the high school, Mortensen is working at his successful side businesses.
“Outside of school, I run two fairly successful side businesses as well as tending to our small farm, so I’d say I’m a pretty busy guy,” said Mortensen. “I work on cars here in my shop, fixing mainly older VWs but also occasionally working on other classic cars. Lastly, I run a large YouTube channel so a lot of my spare time is spent working with companies to promote products on that page.”
Despite Mortensen’s busy schedule, he still manages to indulge in his hobbies.
“My main hobbies are taking care of the small farm that I own, caring after the chickens and turkeys, checking on the trees in our small orchard, and enjoying the outdoors in general,” he said.
Mortensen credits his success to his friends and colleagues, alongside everyone else who has supported him along the way.
“I’ve only been a teacher for five years now, and I doubt I would have made it here without the guidance of my CTE director Dr. Tierra Stark,” Mortensen said. “Her guidance both early on, as well as nearly every day since, has helped me make my job a better one. I’d also like to thank my old friend Dustin Ford. It’s been nearly 10 years since we started working together in the field and I’m proud to call him a friend. Speaking of friends, I’ve made quite a few of them since coming to Watauga, and I owe all of them for allowing me into their lives. Meeting people like Ms. Bare, Ms. Cardwell, Ms. Smith, and so many others have been such a bonus. They are all great people!”
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