“We’re home to New York’s finest, New York’s strongest, New York’s bravest and now New York’s brightest,” said Tómas Hanna, the Department of Education’s chief human resources officer, as he addressed the recipients of the sixth annual Big Apple Awards at DOE headquarters on June 14. The winners were selected from a pool of more than 6,500 nominees. “You’ve taken a path to make a difference in children’s lives, and you do it with love and joy in your heart,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew told the honorees, who will become part of a fellowship in the 2018–19 school year that meets regularly with the chancellor. “Winning this award opened new doors in my professional life, and it’s been very empowering to see our ideas in action,” said Adriana DiScipio, a writing teacher at PS 230 in Kensington, Brooklyn, who was a 2017 Big Apple Award recipient. “There’s a profound respect among our group of fellows, and it was a magical year.” For the honorees, many of whom attended with family members and colleagues, the ceremony was a gratifying experience. “It feels great because I’ve been fighting for so long for physical education to earn respect,” said Mike Rosario, a physical education teacher at PS/MS 279 in the Bronx, who was presented with the New York Road Runners Physical Education Award. Rosario, a 20-year veteran, has never missed a day of school. Raya Sam, a 6th-grade math teacher at Hamilton Grange MS in Hamilton Heights, was so overcome with emotion that her fellow educators quickly stepped in to sing her praises. “She pushes kids to be the best version of themselves,” said Vivian Hoa, a 6th-grade humanities teacher at the school. Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza, who was presiding over his first Big Apple Awards ceremony, announced that he was honored to be “in the presence of greatness.” “I want to learn from you and work together to create a better school system,” he said.