Milken Educators: Where Are They Now? (Part 1)

Nader Imad Twal (CA '03)

Then:

When Nader Imad Twal received his Milken Educator Award in 2003, he was a "bible as literature” and philosophy teacher at Millikan High School in Long Beach, California. He was part of a small team that wrote curriculum for struggling readers, which was adopted by the district and played a key role in developing a college preparatory international studies program. 

Now:

Today, Nader is using his influence to help shape process and policy as an Innovative Professional Development (iPD) program administrator for Long Beach Unified School District, the third largest district in California. 

In his own words: 

“A friend of mine used to say that ‘some people dream; some people dream big; and some people dream so big that they cause others to dream.’ I have always had a desire and dream to live a life of eternal worth—a life bent toward education. What better way to impact the world than to help shape the minds in it. Our kids believe the myth that they are the future, so they spend their education waiting to matter. They are the present. They matter now and they need advocates and educators to cultivate that in them. 

“What the Milken Award did was make this dream of mine a reality. The Milken Family Foundation’s vision for education and its belief in me reflected a dream so big, that it challenged me to dream bigger and extend my potential influence to shape systems. An educator at heart, the expression of that passion has now shifted to the systems-level, where I can help create the conditions to equip, empower and inspire every teacher and student to live their own lives of eternal worth—to make their lives matter now.”