In the remote village of Hamirpur, nestled in the foothills of Himachal Pradesh state in northern India, Anuj Chopra, 44, first discovered his love for learning while watching his father, a high school history teacher, speak.
Chopra would wake up in the early hours of the morning to learn English from him, a routine many children in the village took part in because the local school system didn’t offer the subject.
“When we asked, ‘why are you doing this without (receiving) money?’ he would say that, like we’re getting a chance for education, I believe every child in this village deserves the chance to be successful, to get a chance to chase their dreams,” Chopra said.
“That was always something deep-rooted in my heart, that I wanted to be like him…he was a firm believer that education was the only way to change our destiny.”
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But growing up in Hamirpur was far from easy.
At one point during his elementary years, Chopra said his family of five resided in a one-room home. His sister would stay up late into the night studying for class, while he rose early to find time for his own lessons.
“For my parents, the light was always on,” Chopra joked. “It was a tough time, but we loved that struggle. That struggle made us who we are today.”
Flash forward several decades, degrees and continents later, Chopra, who immigrated to the U.S. with his family in 2022, and now is a sixth through eighth grade science teacher at Pope John XXIII School in Evanston, is being recognized as a finalist for the prestigious Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching.
One of just 30 fourth through eighth grade teacher finalists for this year’s award, Chopra was selected by the organization from nearly 600 submissions across the state. Seven Illinois principals were also nominated for excellence in teaching.
Of the 37 total nominees, 10 teachers and two principals will be named as Golden Apple Award winners and will be surprised with the honor during classroom visits on an unspecified date in the spring.
“There’s always tears, there’s always joy,” said Alan Mather, president of the Golden Apple Foundation. “Seeing students’ faces when their teachers are honored too is pretty great.”
Each winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize and a paid sabbatical leave sponsored by Northwestern University. Recipients are also expected to participate in the Golden Apple Scholars & Accelerators Program, designed to advise and uplift the next generation of Illinois teachers.
Every summer, Golden Apple recruits about 1,300 Illinois high school seniors through college sophomores to visit 10 college campuses across the state. Through the program, the potential future teachers learn the skills “needed to be effective in the classroom” from current award honorees, according to Mather.
Mather said the program aims to recruit a significant number of first-generation college students. As a prerequisite, undergraduates also make a commitment to teach at an at-risk school in the state for five years.
“We pay for their coursework, we give them a stipend as well, and at the end of the academic year, they can be teachers on record,” Mather said. “This is an effort to keep people in their home communities to teach.”
Through this initiative, Mather said the organization hopes to alleviate Illinois’ chronic teacher shortage by building a pipeline of aspiring educators motivated to improve their local school districts.
“The teacher shortage is dramatic — more than 2,000 vacancies across the state — and that’s not even counting all the positions that are filled by retired teachers they’re luring back,” Mather said. “But this is part of the virtuous cycle, so you highlight the great work that teachers do, (and) those teachers help prepare the next generation of great teachers to go into the classroom.”
Any teacher within the state may be considered for the award, and nominations can be submitted from students, parents, colleagues, or administrators. Once submitted, nominees will be sent an application to complete along with corresponding letters of recommendation from the school’s administrator. The Golden Apple team will review all nominees and select their finalists and winners.
Chopra said after learning of his nomination, he was initially hesitant to apply, but advice from his father changed his mind.
“He told me this [recognition] belongs to every student you’ve helped, every teacher, every child you’ve taught,” Chopra said.
“So for me, being a finalist is not about the pleasantries, it’s more about honoring the sacrifice my father and the students made during this journey.”
“After getting this [recognition], I want to do even more for my students,” he added.
Chopra has been a teacher at Pope John XXIII School since 2023.