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Alec Dugin is the 2025-2026 Will Rogers College High School Teacher of the Year!

Alec started teaching science at Rogers five years ago. He also served as the department lead for four years. Alec is a proud member of the Skidi-Pawnee tribe, and he serves as the Indigenous Students Association club advisor and co-advisor for the TPS Tulsa Native Youth Board. We asked Alec a few questions to learn more about him and his time in Tulsa Public Schools.

What led you to a career in education?

In terms of what led me to this career, I wanted to be a mentor. Someone who would encourage students of low income backgrounds that they could achieve their desired life goals if they gave their best effort regardless of the circumstances. For myself, it took strong mentorship from my own teachers that empowered me to go to college, graduate, and serve in our community today. I also felt a strong sense of duty as a former Arizona Boys Stater to give back to my community as well as empower youth to consider medicine as a career choice. As a premed in college, I had to learn a lot of what was required for success on that path on my own with minimal guidance outside of school. My hope has been to be a resource for the students interested in medicine to encourage them to pursue that path and to provide the best guidance I can! Sometimes that simple interaction is all it takes to keep a student on that path and to make it a reality.

What is your favorite thing about your work?

My favorite part about being a teacher is that every day is a new day. You can create the ultimate lesson plan or experience, but everyday there is always something that will twist and change how those plans end up working out. For me, it’s exciting as it is challenging but it enables me to think on my feet often about how to best serve the students. I also get to work with some of the brightest minds who do not realize yet what they will accomplish one day. The statistics about education in Oklahoma may rank our state 50^th but our students prove to me every single day how incorrect that ranking really is.

What is one thing you are passionate about outside of teaching?

In terms of what I am passionate outside of teaching, I enjoy sponsoring a leadership club for Indigenous students that we had the last five years. In that group, we teach students history, public speaking skills, about Indigenous leaders, culture, crafts, and more. Due to this work outside of teaching, the students have hosted eight assemblies and five Native American Heritage Months in the last five years to celebrate their culture with the rest of the students. I also am a co-advisor for the Tulsa Native Youth Board of TPS. The best way I can describe it is that it is a student council of Indigenous youth from across the district. The students learn about culture, participate in Indigenous challenge bowl competitions, Indigenous languages, advocate for their fellow students, and more! I believe in the power of afterschool activities propelling a student to their greatest potential as sometimes their regular classes do not always give them the opportunity to express themselves in.

Anything else you would like people to know about you/your school/etc.?

I started teaching at Will Rogers College High School five years ago because I truly believe in our goal of preparing students to go to college or a starting a career of their choice. Students at our school are able to pursue coursework at TCC or Tulsa Tech concurrently at levels that were not accessible when I was in school. Students have a unique opportunity to push themselves to earn an associate’s degree or certification in a trade to set themselves up for success at early age. I am proud that I am part of that journey and am a mentor to our students. I hope that I can continue to do this work for many years to come and if not as a teacher, as an assistant principal for Rogers one day. I am currently earning a master’s in administration, curriculum, and supervision at OU while serving in the classroom!