Student Advocate named Classified Employee of Year
Andrea Lopez Tzun, who first came to Greeley-Evans School District 6 as a student from her home country in Central America, has been named the Classified Employee of the Year. She was honored by the Board of Education at its regular meeting Monday, March 22.
Andrea works at a Certified Language Development Advocate for the online program at District 6. She was nominated for this honor by her supervisor, CLD Coordinator Jessica Cooney, who praised Andrea for her hard work and dedication to students, and her responsiveness to educators who need her help.
“During the pandemic, Andrea has helped many families access online education,” Cooney said. “She has also recovered many students who have ‘disappeared’ and schools could not contact them. Andrea not only found them, but convinced them to engage in school.”
The Classified Employee of the Year is an annual award hosted by the District 6 Classified Council. There were 71 nominees from 28 different locations for the 2021 Classified Employee of the Year.
Andrea moved to the United States in 2011 at the age of 14, and attended Prairie Heights Middle School and Greeley West High School. She said she didn’t speak any English when she arrived in Greeley.
“I came to the United States without being able to speak the English language”, Andrea said. “Now, it's such a great privilege to speak three languages: I speak K’iche’ which is my native language, Spanish and English.”
Andrea graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in May 2020 with a degree in Human Services and a minor in Spanish. She worked as an intern at the District 6 Family Center and has worked for a year as a CLD Advocate.
“She is an integral part of our team, and even though her time in D6 as an employee has been short, her contribution has been huge,” Cooney said. “Andrea is an example of the ideal employee and I am honored to work with her.”