The Evergreen State College in Olympia recently honored Jason Uitvlugt, of Bainbridge High School, with it’s 2015-16 Teacher Excellence Award.

The recognition honors teachers who have had a significant impact on the lives of students.

Incoming Evergreen students were asked to nominate their former instructors for the award, presented by the college’s Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Michael Zimmerman.

“Most of us can point to a pivotal experience in our education when a teacher noticed, encouraged or influenced us,” he said. “Maybe that teacher bolstered our confidence [or] maybe she or he changed the course of our lives.”

Zimmerman said the participating students had made it clear Uitvlugt was such a teacher.

In nominating Uitvlugt, former BHS student Finnian Weappa-Mickelson wrote: “He’s easy to get along with. He really went out of his way to make science for incoming high school freshmen as interesting as possible, and he did his absolute best in teaching us the formulas and techniques we needed to memorize in a fun way that engaged the whole class.”

Evergreen has been recognizing Teachers of Excellence since 2011.