WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) -Legacy High School biology teacher Josh Nielsen was awarded the Roberta Faulkner Sund Award for his dedication to his students. The award, created by Dr. Harold Sund in memory of his wife, Roberta Faulkner, recognizes one science teacher in the district every year and comes with a check for $1,000.

Nielsen said he was caught off guard when the award was presented to him.

“Actually, when they first walked in, they asked, ‘Can I interrupt the classes?’ and I thought, ‘OK, who did something wrong in my class?’ Then I saw a whole stream of people, and I thought, ‘Oh, this is definitely a much, much nicer experience.’ I had no clue that I was even up for it. I was totally ecstatic,” Nielsen said.

This award specifically goes to a science teacher because Mrs. Faulkner taught chemistry from 1968 to 1992, and it honors her love for science.

Nielsen has been teaching at WFISD for 25 years and loves sharing science with his students.

“I get to teach about stuff I like. This isn’t a class that everybody wants to take—it’s a class that they have to take. So, I definitely want to try to make it so they enjoy their time in my room. I just do that. I love being able to talk about stuff, and sometimes they accidentally learn things,” Nielsen said.