Mr. Moran named Pirates All-Star Teacher

Congratulations to Mr. Moran who was named a 2021 Pirates All Star Teacher!

Mr. Moran was one of 18 teachers to earn the award out of 525 of educators who were nominated by their students.

“I don’t know what to say,” Mr. Moran said. “I’m blown away. Every single one of my students has been fantastic and I appreciate each and every one of them for what they do every day.”

Mr. Moran is in his first year of teaching after working for 10 years in healthcare with eight years as a registered nurse. He is the instructor for students in their first year of A.W. Beattie’s Health and Nursing Sciences program.

“I hope my students can see how much fun I’m having,” Mr. Moran said. “I hope my enthusiasm is being portrayed about all of the healthcare field opportunities that are out there and that my influence on them is that they can be and do whatever they want to. I hope that inspires them to become a healthcare professional to help and care for people and to be compassionate toward people.”

Mr. Moran has already had a positive influence on his students.

“He goes in-depth into stuff and makes it simple to understand,” Avonworth sophomore Vincent Ferra said. “If you aren't sure on something, he'll make sure you comprehend it. Also, it's his character. He's understanding of everyone.”

Pine-Richland sophomore Kyriaki Tziovannis nominated him to be a Pirates All-Star Teacher.

“His character makes it very enjoyable to go to school,” she said. “I feel very welcomed here. He usually has little lessons for us to segue into hands-on learning.  He also prepares us with examples of how nurses experience things from a real-world perspective to help us learn.”

A.W. Beattie Sports Medicine instructor Mr. Darren Vtipil has been Mr. Moran’s mentor this school year.

“Mr. Moran has been an awesome teacher from the start,” Mr. Vtipil said. “In my daily interactions with him, I’ve found that the advice that he needed earlier this year has been replaced more by discussing ideas with me as a health care colleague and instructor.  Working in health care, we always have to be ready to adapt on the fly, and working with Doug I knew that he would do great dealing with challenging circumstances like this past year has offered.”

Mr. Moran looks forward to seeing what his students do in the future.

“The ultimate goal as a teacher is to support your students as they develop the knowledge and skills as they move on and achieve their career goals,” Mr. Moran said. “I know we need excellent health care professional whether they are nurses, doctors, physicians assistants, patient technicians, and to see them grow to be professionals is something that I look forward to. I hope my students, as they graduate, do reach back to me to give updates or to ask questions because I’ll always be here for them.”

As a Pirates All-Star Teacher, Mr. Moran won a certificate to hang in his classroom, a $100 Visa gift card, a mystery box of Pirates branded prizes, a custom Pirates game jersey, a luxury suite at a Pirates baseball game to be recognized, and a $1,000 grant to use in the classroom.

"It's completely unexpected," Mr. Moran said when the Pirates surprised him. "I'm just lost for words."