NEWS                                                                                    Walnut Valley Unified School District

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                   880 S. Lemon Avenue

July 9, 2014                                                                           Walnut, CA 91789

 

Contact:                                                   

Kelli Gile, Office of Community Resources

(909)595-1261 ext. 31204

 

Walnut High’s Garrett Lim Named to All-Star Teacher Roster

WALNUT, CA—Exceptional teaching and a love of baseball has earned Walnut High chemistry teacher Garrett Lim the title of All- Star Teacher.

PEOPLE Magazine, Target Corp, and Major League Baseball will be soon be celebrating an all-star team of educators during the 2014 All-Star Game in Minnesota.

Thirty educators from around the country have been named to the top teacher roster.  They will be flown to Target Field in Minneapolis to attend this year’s All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 15.

The teachers, who are all avid baseball fans, will be included in All-Star activities and introduced during a pre-game ceremony of the MLB All-Star Game.

“It will be exciting,” Lim said.

The “Target Presents PEOPLE All-Stars” campaign celebrates remarkable current and retired teachers who make an impact on the lives of their students and communities.

“This is an awesome tribute to Garrett as he represents all educators at the Midsummer Classic! Garrett is truly one of Walnut’s finest,” said Principal Jeff Jordan.

Former student Daniel Tsai, a 2014 graduate, nominated Lim as an All-Star Teacher.

“Daniel told me during the process and wanted to know about my story. It was an honor,” Lim said.

Nominations specified the teacher’s favorite MLB Club, a short essay including accomplishments in education, making a difference in the life of a student, school, or community and honors or awards. Fans cast their votes online at AllStarTeachers.com to select 30 winners from a pool of 90 finalists.

“Daniel’s a baseball fan too. We would talk about baseball - he likes the Dodgers and I like the White Sox.”

Lim said he became a White Sox fan when he started watching baseball in the early 1990s.

“Something drew me to Frank Thomas and how he approached the art of hitting, so much so that he became my favorite player. And since he played for the White Sox, the White Sox became my favorite team. I have been rooting for them since!"  

When the team won the World Series in 2005, their third championship and first in 88 years, a co-worker scoured Chicago for copies of every newspaper and brought them back to California for Lim. He now keeps the treasures tucked away.

Lim describes the being named an All-Star Teacher as a “once-in a-lifetime experience.” He hopes to meet at least one of the White Sox team members playing in the All-Star Game and plans to bring some baseballs to have them signed – just in case.

“As a teacher I try to find common ground with my students,” Lim said.

He likes to share his love of baseball and even plays guitar for his students each year.

After college, Lim became a chemist and later followed his passion to teaching chemistry, which is what he's been doing for the last eight years.

He relates his experiences in the chemistry industry to the classroom to help his students better understand chemistry's practical uses. He teaches a variety of levels of the subject, including honors, international baccalaureate and advanced placement.

He wrote a song called “Awake” for his students that explains his journey in becoming a teacher.

“It tells them to follow their heart and your career will find you,” Lim explained.

Tune in to see the All-Star Teachers live on FOX on July 15.

Walnut High School chemistry teacher Garrett Lim has been named an All-Star Teacher and will fly to Minneapolis to attend the 2014 MLB All-Star Game on July 15. Lim is shown wearing a t-shirt with #35, the number of his favorite White Sox player Frank Thomas.