A Seymour High School graduate now teaching at Shawe Memorial Junior-Senior High School in Madison recently received the Teacher of the Year award from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 12153 in Greenwood.

Jennifer Nigg, a social studies teacher, received $50, and her nomination was moved to the district level, where she won $100 after winning the high school division.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Teacher of the Year awards contest recognizes exceptional teachers for their outstanding commitment to teaching Americanism and patriotism to their students.

Each year, a classroom elementary, junior high and high school teacher whose curriculum focuses on citizenship education topics — for at least half of the school day in a classroom environment — can be nominated for the Smart/Maher VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher Award.

Nigg, a graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington, is the daughter of Tom and Cheryl Fenton of Seymour.