Excellence in Education: Abbie Kowalski

By Gabriel Rogers

Gabriel Rogers joined FOX 17 in January 2023 after graduating from Grand Valley State University. He received his B.A. in international relations and German Language with a minor in history in Winter 2022. While studying at GVSU, he became an active member at GVTV - the university's student-run television station. There, he was introduced to the world of broadcast journalism and storytelling.

Gabriel has also spent time in Europe; living in Munich, Germany for a year while admitted to the Ludwig Maximilian Universität as a guest student.

His passion for journalism comes from a love of history and international affairs. He also has a love for languages — being proficient in German as well as having studied other languages like Dutch, Pennsylvania German, French, Russian and Italian in the past.

Abbie Kowalski is this week's Excellence in Education award winner!

ALPENA, Mich. — Abbie Kowalski is being recognized for her Excellence in Education.

“I teach because I just love kids,” says Abbie. “I mean since I have grown up, my sister and my mom would all ride to school together and my mom was actually a teacher, and so in the morning before school, I would actually grab some of the other teacher's kids and I would start teaching them in my mom's classroom, and I even went so far as to write out report cards for them and have conferences.”

Abbie has received a $1,500 check from the Michigan Lottery, and her class at Wilson Elementary and Thunder Bay Junior High School will receive a $500 grant.

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