Gary Chen and V. Diann Flanagan of Manhasset Secondary School have been named Distinguished Teachers of 2016 by the Harvard Club of Long Island.
“This award honors teachers who transform lives,” explained Dr. Judith Esterquest, Harvard Club of Long Island chair of the Distinguished Teacher Selection Committee.
“Devoted teachers like Mr. Chen offer Long Island students deep expertise, extraordinary talents and countless hours of attention. By capturing the minds and imaginations of our children and preparing them for challenges that were unknown even a few decades ago, these teachers shape the future of our country.”
Chen and Flanagan will be honored at the Harvard Club of Long Island’s annual University Relations Luncheon on April 10, along with 13 other teachers from across the 150 public school districts and private schools on Long Island. Following the award ceremony, Benjamin M. Friedman, professor of political economy at Harvard University, will discuss Prospects for the U.S. Economy and U.S. Economic Policy.
Chen teaches earth science and environmental science at Manhasset Secondary School, where he has worked since 2003. He earned his undergraduate degree from SUNY Oneonta and his graduate degree from Teachers College, Columbia University. In his spare time, he enjoys music, travel, and reading about earth and space sciences and technology.
Caroline Juang, a former Manhasset student who will graduate from Harvard College in 2017, described Chen as “someone who shines as a teacher and a person in my life.” Juang added, “I still remember sitting in class for a lab about the sun’s solar magnetic energy cycle. Mr. Chen asked the class in his animated voice if we saw a pattern in the number of cycles. Excitedly, I wrote 11 on my lab sheet. Mr. Chen’s class was always full of interactivity; Mr. Chen’s classes are responsible for igniting my joy for self-discovery.
“As a current earth and planetary sciences concentrator, I can attribute some of my decision in choosing a major to him,” Juang said.
When Manhasset Superintendent of Schools Charles Cardillo learned of this award, he said, “Throughout his entire career, Gary Chen has made a powerful impact on his students by making a personal connection.
“Mr. Chen has also consistently set a very high standard for his students, encouraging them to never give up while at the same time inspiring students to work harder,” added Cardillo.
Flanagan has been teaching for 26 years, more than 10 of which have been at Manhasset High School. She teaches AP Biology, Living Environment, Science 7, Forensics, and Science Research. She has also taught fourth-graders in Manhasset’s after-school elementary gifted science program.
Flanagan has been married for 36 years and has four children and one grandchild. She has numerous hobbies, including playing the lute and transcribing music from English and Italian manuscripts from the 1500s and 1600s. She enjoys fiber arts (spinning, weaving and working with wool), and collects and restores vintage looms and sewing machines from the late 1800s to the 1940s. Reading, particularly science-related works, is a passion.
Jessica Kim, a former Manhasset student who will graduate from Harvard College in 2019, nominated Flanagan, describing her as “beyond being my teacher, she is truly a life mentor and has shaped my career path. In middle school, she instilled a love for science that has since grown astronomically.
“Looking back, I remember asking a million questions about every topic—biology, chemistry, astronomy—and while answering each one must have been exhausting, she always engaged,” said Kim. “Her actions ensured that I never hesitated to ask questions and be a creative thinker.”
Kim concluded, “Her continual enthusiasm showed me the importance of being a genuinely caring person. For her help in shaping me as a person and as a student, I will be forever grateful.”
Cardillo said, “Diann Flanagan is a master teacher whose commitment to her students is second to none. It is very evident to her students that Mrs. Flanagan loves teaching science.”
He continued, “Her students view Mrs. Flanagan as a very kind, caring and wonderful person. She embodies the true spirit of a great educator, which is why it is no surprise that many of her students view her as their second mother.”
At the ceremony on April 10, the Harvard Club of Long Island will announce the Distinguished Teachers of 2016 who will also receive scholarships for a “Harvard experience” at the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, MA. Past winners of the scholarships have enhanced their teaching by sampling the resources available to Harvard students; meeting with faculty; visiting research laboratories, rare book archives and specialty museums; and enjoying visual and performance art. The scholarships are funded by contributions from Harvard alumni living on Long Island.
This year’s 14 Distinguished Teacher Award winners were nominated by current Harvard undergraduates and then selected by Harvard Club of Long Island Board members. This year’s award winners teach art, biology, chemistry, earth science, English, marine science, math, music and social studies. The winners teach in the Half Hollow Hills, Herricks, Hicksville, Manhasset, Massapequa, Oceanside, Sayville, Sewanhaka, Syosset and Valley Stream districts, as well as St. Anthony’s High School, The Stony Brook School and the Waldorf School.
Prior winners of this award in the Manhasset Union Free School District have included Dr. Joseph D’Angelo in 2005, Dr. David Dorman in 2009, Eric Shapiro in 2010, Terese Keogh in 2013 and Marcia Untracht in 2014.
