This past November, Chinese instructor John Chen received the 2025-2026 Enloe Teacher of the Year award in celebration of his passion and dedication to teaching.
Each year, teachers nominate their peers for Enloe Teacher of the Year. The top nominees are selected to write a personal statement and these individuals are then voted on by the rest of the faculty to determine the official Enloe Teacher of the Year. Upon recognition, these teachers then move onto the countywide competition for Wake County Teacher of The Year.
“I was so excited to learn Mr. Chen had been chosen as Enloe’s Teacher of the Year,” said Dr. Jordan, Enloe High School’s principal.
“Mr. Chen embodies all the best qualities of an Enloe teacher, he consistently provides a rigorous and engaging learning experience for all his students. He creates unique learning experiences in his classroom, but has also created memorable opportunities beyond the classroom, such as taking students to China last year for Spring Break,” continued Dr. Jordan.
Mr. Chen is invested in the success of his students and works hard to prepare them for life beyond Chinese class, “If I have a freshman in my class, I tell them, I help you get ready for college.” He specifically emphasizes the importance of helping students with the college transition, adding that “I teach Chinese, I teach a language. I have to give you the skills to learn and survive in university…[including] how to design your major, how to start the courses in college, and what should be your future career.”
It is Mr. Chen’s top priority to engage his students in Chinese extracurricularly through camps, trips, competitions, and art. Some years, Chen plans an educational spring break trip to Jiangsu, China for his students, designed to immerse them in Chinese language and culture. Chen also often recommends his students to attend STARTALK, a two week residential summer camp at UNC Chapel Hill which aims to embrace cultural diversity and teach high school students about Chinese outside of school.
“[STARTALK] was the best experience of my life. It made me want to do Chinese in college…that experience really taught me a lot about myself,” said Enloe senior, Niyanthri Thyagarajan.
Unable to fit a Chinese course into her schedule, Thyagarajan unofficially takes Chinese IV during her lunch period. “He’s done more for me than any teacher at the school ever has in so many ways. He might not be so vocal about it, but you can see it in his actions.”
Beyond the care and effort he allocates to his pupils, Chen shows kindness towards the other Enloe faculty too.
Nabeel Kandah has been the department head of the Foreign Language Department since 2007, working closely with Chen.
“Mr. Chen is an excellent colleague. He’s kind hearted, he’s devoted, dedicated, and he’s got an excellent sense of humor,” says Kandah, “He really just always wants to do an excellent job…he’s a terrific colleague and a terrific teacher.”
Congratulations to Mr. Chen on winning Enloe 2025-2026 Teacher of the Year!
