Dexter Hanzel, a Wayne State College graduate who is currently a math and science teacher at Neligh-Oakdale Junior/Senior High School, has received the Milken Educator Award for Nebraska. Hanzel, who is originally from Platte Center, earned his bachelor’s degree in Math Education from Wayne State in 2016, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Wayne State.
This marks the second time since 2018 that a Wayne State graduate has received a Milken Educator Award. Jon Pickinpaugh, a 2005, 2010, and 2018 graduate of Wayne State, also received the honor.
The award includes an unrestricted $25,000 cash prize the recipient may use however they choose. Hailed as the “Oscar of Teaching,” the Award was created by philanthropist and education visionary Lowell Milken in 1987 to further excellence in education and inspire the next generation of educators. Governor Jim Pillen and State Commissioner of Education Dr. Brian Maher joined Milken Educator Awards Vice President Jennifer Fuller in recognizing Hanzel – the first Milken Educator Award winner in the district’s history.
“Today we celebrate Dexter Hanzel for his immense commitment to excellence in education and ability to create powerful, creative learning opportunities for students,” said Fuller, who is a 2017 Texas Milken Educator herself. “Dexter’s leadership and positive influence are changing the lives of his students, supporting his colleagues, strengthening his community, and elevating education in Nebraska.”
Hanzel, Nebraska’s 49th Milken honoree, was honored as part of the Milken Family Foundation’s 2024-25 Milken Educator Awards season. The tour will honor up to 45 pioneering professionals coast to coast, marking the 3,000th Milken Educator in the Awards’ ranks and celebrating a history of changing lives in communities across America. Since the presentation of the first Awards in 1987, more than $75 million in individual cash prizes and over $145 million have been invested in the Milken Educator Award national network overall, empowering recipients to “Celebrate, Elevate, and Activate” the K-12 profession and encouraging young, capable people to consider a career in education.
“Dexter’s commitment to his school and to his students is evident in all of the extra things he chooses to do above and beyond his normal duties as a teacher,” said Commissioner Maher. “We are thrilled to see him recognized with this award and so happy that his story will be shared as an example of the excellent educators we have in Nebraska.”
About Dexter Hanzel
Empowering students and the community, Hanzel’s outstanding dedication to his students, colleagues, and community plays a significant role in the academic, professional, and personal growth of those around him. A math and science teacher at Neligh-Oakdale Jr./Sr. High School, Hanzel engages students in grades 8-12 well beyond note-taking and memorization: His classroom is a hub of exciting hands-on activities and experiments, collaborative group projects, and community-connected, real-life learning. Hanzel’s students partnered with the Neligh Economic Development Council to create a promotional video and presentation for the City of Neligh, complete with voiceovers and footage from drones, which Hanzel taught them how to operate. Other projects include calculating the slope of the school’s steps; building bridges, ramps, and towers; and designing containers to protect fragile eggs from an elevated drop.
As part of his role on the district’s multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) team, Hanzel presented at an MTSS Summit in Kearney. Also within the district, Hanzel serves on the classification of instructional programs (CIP) committee, mentors new staff, and is an instrumental leader in updating and adopting new districtwide math curriculum. At the school level, Hanzel participates on the student success team, where he collaborates with colleagues on intervention strategies for students, harnessing his experiences from serving on the SAT/SCIP (School Community Intervention and Prevention) team. He previously headed a math readiness program in partnership with Northeast Community College and is currently working with the district on securing a STEM/robotics club.
A service-oriented leader, Hanzel helps the community wherever he can. He is the school’s head boys golf coach, assistant football coach, and oversees a weights program during the summer. Before and after school he offers additional academic help to students and has supported summer custodial staff. Always modeling “The Warrior Way” for students, Hanzel serves as a positive adult role model and a valued mentor within the school’s Teammates Mentoring Program.
Milken Educator Award’s
Lifelong Benefits
The $25,000 cash Award is unrestricted. Recipients have used the money in diverse ways. Some recipients have spent the funds on their children’s or their own continuing education, financing dream field trips, establishing scholarships, and even adopting children.
Honorees receive powerful mentorship opportunities for expanded leadership roles that strengthen education practice and policy. Milken Friends Forever (MFF) pairs a new recipient with a veteran Milken Educator mentor; the Expanding MFF Resource and Explorer Program fosters individual veteran Milken Educator partnerships around specific topic areas; and Activating Milken Educators promotes group collaboration in and across states to bring solutions to pressing educational needs.
The honorees attend an all-expenses-paid Milken Educator Awards Forum in Los Angeles in April 2025, where they will network with their new colleagues as well as veteran Milken Educators and other education leaders about how to broaden their impact on K-12 education.
Veteran Milken Educators demonstrate a wide range of leadership roles at state, national and international levels.
The first Milken Educator Awards were presented by the Milken Family Foundation in 1987. Created by philanthropist and education visionary Lowell Milken, the Awards provide public recognition and individual financial rewards of $25,000 to K-12 teachers, principals, and specialists from around the country who are furthering excellence in education.
Recipients are heralded in early to mid-career for what they have achieved and for the promise of what they will accomplish. The Milken Family Foundation celebrates more than 40 years of elevating education in America and around the world. Learn more at MFF.org.
