January 11, 2008

  • Ninth-grade science teacher Sakhalin Finnie reacts with shock upon being surprised with a $25,000 Milken national Educator Award in front of thunderously cheering students and colleagues.

LSU College of Engineering alumna Sakhalin Finnie (BS, ChE, 1991) has received a Milken National Educator Award for her “outstanding contributions to the education of our children” in the fields of math and science. Since 1987, the Milken Family Foundation has granted National Educator Awards annually, honoring teachers, principals, and other education professionals who are setting new standards for achievement in education through public recognition and a $25,000 cash award. 

Finnie decided in 1999 to leave her promising career as a chemical engineer in order to dedicate herself to education. Since then, she has taught science in the Los Angeles area, first at Huntington Park High School and then at Banning High School, where she established an African-American Student Union. For the past three years, Finnie has been teaching at Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy in Wilmington, California. There she has received accolades for her integral role in raising test scores among low-achieving students by improving the confidence and self-esteem of high-need students and engaging them in creatively designed hands-on activities.  In addition to serving as Harbor Academy’s representative to United Teachers Los Angeles, Finnie has helped implement a peer review protocol for fellow teachers, established the Future Teacher Club, created a summer science “bridge” program for incoming freshman as well as a “Saturday Science Club,” and has led her ninth-grade students to a first-place prize in the regional Earth Science Challenge.

The Milken award is not Finnie’s first national acknowledgement of her superior contributions to education; in 2002, NASA recognized her with its Minority University Math, Science and Technology Award for Teacher Education, which included an invitation to participate in the NASA Science Ambassador Workshop and provides ongoing access to NASA’s educational resources for use in her classroom. 

Article by Jessica McKelvie Kemp, College of Engineering, 225-578-0092, jmkemp@lsu.edu

- 30 –



  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Reddit