Union Students Express Pride for Oklahoma's Teacher of the Year

Oklahoma's 2022 Teacher of the Year is a Tulsan who teaches at Union High School.

Rebecka Peterson will take on her official duties starting this summer, which include traveling across the state to visit public schools. Thursday’s ceremony was in Oklahoma City, but many classrooms here at Union were watching the Livestream as Peterson’s name was announced.

Related Story: Union Teacher Named 2022 Oklahoma Teacher Of The Year

As Peterson walked up to the microphone in shock, Senior Fraz Javed was taking a calculus quiz back at school. 

 "And literally outside my class, you could hear just people in the hallway cheering and clapping, so it was definitely a very energetic moment for the whole school,” Javed said. He had Peterson as a teacher his sophomore year.  

 Meghana Venkatesha had Peterson for two years. She is not in her class this year but is still making memories.  

 "I still go and talk to her every day this year too and just talk to her about school and life and everything. And she's always -- she's not just a teacher, she's also a mentor and like a friend at school,” Venkatesha said.  

Peterson's impact goes far beyond preparing students for the AP Calculus test. She says 9 of her former students are either pursuing or are in math education.  

"My first year teaching she made a point to come by my room every day, to ask, 'How was today? What do you need for tomorrow?’” Teacher Morgan Davis said in a video produced for the OSDE.  

"I am an immigrant to the United States,” Peterson said in that same video. “I really spent a lot of my childhood just trying to fit in. And so as a teacher, I want my students to know that they are accepted exactly as they are." 

Peterson was born in Sweden. She has also lived in Tajikistan and Kazakhstan and said her parents were medical missionaries. She became a U.S. citizen at the age of 20. Peterson’s Teacher of the Year duties include traveling the state for speaking engagements, and she'll be given a vehicle to use, as she serves as an ambassador for Oklahoma teachers. 

"I truly believe that access to free and high-quality education is the bedrock of our democracy and teachers are at the heart of that,” Peterson said in her remarks after the announcement.  

Javed and Venkatesha are both National Merit Scholars. After graduating from Union, Venkatesha said she plans to study biology and go pre-med, and Javed plans to study economics.  

Of the 12 finalists for 2022, seven were from Green Country, including teachers from Bixby, Tahlequah, Collinsville, Union, Tulsa, Coweta, and Bristow Public Schools.