Lancaster Catholic Honored To Receive Two Golden Apple Awards

A pair of Lancaster Catholic High School educators were honored with the 2022 Golden Apple Award, as announced by the Diocese of Harrisburg on Monday. Principal Terry Klugh and Theology Teacher Nicole Martin '93 earned the prestigious distinction, marking the eighth time in the last eight years that a member of Lancaster Catholic community was recognized.

The Golden Apple Award is the highest recognition given by the Diocese to principals and teachers, commending the educator’s professional excellence, leadership, commitment to Catholic values and devotion to teaching in a Catholic school.

Martin has been inspired by Klugh’s leadership throughout her time as a teacher at Catholic High:

“At The Last Supper in John’s Gospel, Jesus describes what servant leadership involves. He washes the Apostles’ feet and says, ‘As I have done, so you must do.’ Terry lives this command of Christ, The Master Teacher. Last year, when our school community needed to celebrate Mass socially distant in the gym and cafeteria, Terry addressed the student body as he always does before Mass. I will never forget his words. ‘This space is sacred because you are sacred.’ I believe that one sentence speaks volumes about the man and leader that Terry is. He sees everyone the way God sees everyone, and this impacts his relationships with the greater LCHS community, the staff, parents, teachers, etc. This is only one reason Terry is receiving The Golden Apple." 

Martin was taken back when she heard she was earning “the profound honor”, and her colleagues who nominated her shared a joyful point of view for this deserving teacher. Her former student and current theology colleague Megan Cotchen '03 recalled how it was (then Miss Bertolini) inspired her to be a theology teacher: 

“The way she taught wasn’t necessarily always about the content. The content was important, but it was building a relationship with her students that stood out to me. It was more about how we learned than what we learned with her. It was her enthusiasm and her joy. The way she presented herself each day was joyful. I now realize as a teacher that it is important to always portray that joyfulness. I realize that it’s not about the test or how well they do in class, it’s about planting the seeds for them to grow stronger in their faith life.”

Lancaster Catholic has received nine total Golden Apple Awards. The first went to Dick Ressel '72 in 2009, then a stretch of eight in the last eight years. LCHS currently has six Golden Apple educators in the building.