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Austin Area Alternative Learning Center (AALC) teacher Gabe Nelson has been named the Minnesota Association of Alternative Programs (MAAP) STARS Advisor of the Year at the Spring STARS Conference held in Mankato on April 25-26. 

Nelson was nominated by several of his students for this prestigious honor.

“Mr. Nelson is an amazing educator and a strong leader for our Austin Alternative Learning Center, and this year he became our MAAP Stars advisor,” said AALC Principal Alison Gunderson. “Through Mr. Nelson’s leadership with this program, they continue to make a positive impact for our high school and our community. In the words of his students in the MAAP STARS program, ‘Mr. Nelson does the most and expects the least.’  We are truly grateful to have him as a teacher.”

 MAAP STARS, the student arm of the Minnesota Association of Alternative Programs, “is a comprehensive program designed to help [students] unlock [their] talents, develop [their] skills, and reach [their] full potential.”

Nelson was honored at the Spring STARS Conference, a “two-day conference [giving] students in alternative settings the opportunity to showcase the knowledge they have learned, along with their artistic, career and life skills. Students participated as individuals and/or in teams in competitive and non-competitive events and were evaluated by volunteer judges.”

 Austin has been a member of MAAP Stars for more than 15 years, boasting several state officers and honored students.