BRYAN, Texas — Victoria Romero, an eighth grader at Stephen F. Austin Middle School, has been taking STEM classes ever since fourth grade.
But once she landed in Naveen Cunha's Robotics One class, she is learning more about what she wants to do in life.
She said it's one of the most impactful things she's learned from him so far.
"I started researching the nano system engineers, and it’s actually really cool. I might want to try to do that," Romero said.
Bryan ISD faculty and staff saw his impact.
Now, Cunha's one of three finalists for the 2024 Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year, which is one of the highest honors that a teacher in Texas can hold.
His peers nominated him after he received the honor of being named the district's teacher of the year at Convocation in August.
Cunha has been an educator for over 30 years, and he's spent six of them at SFA Middle School where he teaches and learns more ways to solve problems.
He's worked with NASA and even helped start Odyssey Academy, the school's STEM program.
In his class, students have made projects out of recycled material and built robots and coded them.
But his main focus is on his students' future even if they aren't interested in robotics.
"I tell them that really the core behind what I teach is problem solving and working as a team. If you can master those two things, you’ll get far in life with any job," Cunha said.
He was recognized for his efforts at district events, and he was even awarded a $3,000 check from the SEC Network.
But he never imagined himself in the position he's in now.
"I don’t worry what goes on beyond the classroom. My focus is on just, again, just providing the students, the program, the district with what they need for student success," he said.
But Romero thinks the honor is well deserved.
"He’s funny. He can be serious at times, but I think he’s a good teacher cause he gets stuff done. He helps us a lot with things we don't understand," Romero said.
The Texas Association of School Administrators will announce the winner during a ceremony on Oct. 20.