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Award Notification:  Ryan Moore (CO '15)

Colorado Science Teacher Ryan Moore Wins $25K Milken Award

What went through Ryan Moore's mind when he heard Lowell Milken, chairman and co-founder of the Milken Family Foundation, call his name as winner of Colorado's 2015-16 Milken Educator Award? Moore's first thought was eminently practical: Seated at the very top of the gymnasium bleachers, he wondered how to part the sea of kids to make his way to the microphone to accept his award.

Moore, who served in the U.S. Army and as a Colorado corrections officer before turning to a career in education, entered the classroom through Colorado's alternative teacher licensing program. Designed to attract new teachers via nontraditional career paths, the program allowed Moore to begin teaching at the same time that he was earning his credentials.

A passionate science teacher, Moore is known for his creativity in the classroom. He's asked pairs of students to imagine what their offspring would look like for genealogy lessons, played ping-pong to illustrate Newton's Laws, and taught atomic structure using glow-in-the-dark constellations. "I have awesome kids, and I have an awesome team - and that really makes this easy," Moore says.