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John Pelster ‘87: 2022 Lasallian Educator of the Year

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College Bound

College Bound

2022 Lasallian Educator of the Year John Pelster ’87

Each year, at the Saint La Salle liturgy, Vice President for Academic Life, Dr. Heather Alumbaugh, has had the privilege of honoring an educator who is chosen by his or her peers to receive a very special award – the Lasallian Educator of the Year Award. For the 2021-22 school year, Mr. John Pelster ’87, was selected as the De La Salle High School Lasallian Educator of the Year.

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Before making the announcement, Dr. Alumbaugh said, “Each year it is both a challenge and a blessing to choose the Lasallian Educator of the Year. The commitment, respect, and love our faculty give to our students are the same they show one another.” During her presentation, before an audience that included the entire student body as well as De La Salle faculty and staff, Dr. Alumbaugh shared a few of the comments she had received about John from his peers. One wrote, “John is as good as it gets: thoughtful, fair, meticulous, and giving.” Another shared, “John is an example to the students of how to live one’s life with integrity, compassion, kindness, and dedication.” Yet another voiced, “I can see how much he cares about each student who comes through his door, as students, as well as growing human beings. He gives so much to his students and to his coworkers, and he deserves to be recognized for it.” Multiple colleagues commented on John’s exceptional generosity as a peer, mentor, and guide. In fact, over the course of Dr. Alumbaugh’s six years at De La Salle, she has never had so many faculty and staff members so uniformly refer to their nominated colleague as a “gifted mentor.” Throughout his 31-year career at De La Salle, John has worn multiple hats while on De La Salle’s campus. He has been a department chair, an accreditation chair, and an English teacher. He has also served the school as the Varsity Cross Country Coach for the past 18 years.

Everyone John has interacted with has benefited from the thoughtfulness, kindness, and open heart of this deeply deserving and long-time Spartan.

Previous recipients of this award include:

Mr. Eidson, Mr. Ladouceur, Mr. Zorad, Mr. Hassett, Mr. Hirsch, Mrs. Stevenson, Mr. Oelschlager, Mrs. Acquistapace, Mr. Guthrie, Ms. Dickson, Mr. Berkes, Mr. Aliotti, Mrs. Appel, Mrs. Mattos, Mr. Graham, Mr. Aquino, Mrs. Talmadge, and our dear Mr. Olwell.

The Lasallian Educator of the Year award honors an educator who is chosen by his or her peers to receive a very special award, and is given to a faculty member who exemplifies the qualities of St. La Salle, specifically meeting the following criteria:

A dedicated and committed individual who is an exemplary educator. An educator who understands his/her own dignity as a child of God so that he/she can pass this on to students.

A person who cherishes and cares for his/her students like an older brother or sister, and, above all, someone who is committed to a life of faith and expresses that in a commitment to teach his or her students the importance of the spiritual life, inculcating living values.

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