LRHS instructor nominated for Yale award by former student

During Addison Shea’s freshman year at Lakewood Ranch High School in 2021, teacher Samantha Biggs was walking around her AP Human Geography class checking out her students' work. She discovered that Shea was doing math.

Biggs' assignment concerned a topographic map, which displayed a mountain from above. The lesson was about the mountain and no math was required, but Shea had decided to go above and beyond the class assignment.

"I pulled out my ruler and I was trying to find proportions (of the mountain)," Shea said. "If I could, like, find how long it was, I could determine the scale. It was fun to like work through it."

Biggs knew at that moment that Shea was gifted. Shea went on to graduate in May before heading for Yale University to begin the current semester.

“Everyone can look at her (Shea) on paper and say she's smart, but she's just so much more than just being smart,” Biggs said. “What I'll remember is that Addison is a person, a whole student, and not just the smart kid who went to Yale.” 

Shea realized that Biggs was more than just a teacher, too.

The Yale Office of Undergraduate Admissions announced that Biggs had earned a 2025 Yale Educator Award that is presented to 87 educators across the world. In order to receive the award, an instructor has to be nominated by a Yale student. Shea nominated Biggs.

Shea said her time with Biggs was an instrumental part of her journey to Yale and she could not have gotten there without her. 

“Mrs. Biggs was just an incredible instructor during my time at Lakewood Ranch High School,” Shea said. “She was both an incredible teacher as well as just an amazing human being.” 

Photo by Madison Bierl

Biggs taught Shea in two different classes: AP Human Geography — which Biggs described as structured and content driven— and AP Seminar, which was student led.  

“Addison was very data driven, so I knew how she was thinking,” Biggs said. “I was able to help her look at it, from a different lens than she typically would have. The other part about Addison that I super value is with her being so smart and brilliant, she's also kind and a giver, and super hands-on with her friends and her peers.”  

“She (Biggs) showed me the importance of looking at the political lens as well as the economic ... as well as the scientific and the cultural," Shea said. "It was just being able to see a problem from so many different facets, and formulating a solution from so many different angles.” 

Shea said she valued how Biggs did more than teach, taking the time to ask her how things were going, such as after her track meets.

Biggs said she appreciated that an institution such as Yale recognizes the work instructors invest in their students.

“I wasn't working toward this award,” Biggs said. “This award found me.”

Although she appreciates the kudos, she said it doesn’t change anything for her. She will continue to do exactly what she’s always done, just with a new plaque on her desk. 

“We have people who host the science fair and the history fair, not for themselves, and not just because they love history,” Biggs said. “We want the kids to have projects, because we want them to have these for their resume when they apply for Florida, for Yale, for wherever they go. There's 55 other people at the school that could have been recognized as well.” 

Biggs is starting her first year as an assistant principal, but her entire 11-year teaching career has been at Lakewood Ranch High School. She was a classroom teacher from 2015-2023 and then worked as a student support specialist and dean for two years before moving into the assistant principal role. 

Biggs said she believes in lifelong learning and is always seeking growth, whether that be through taking classes or stepping into new positions. She said she is a “yes man” and will do anything in her power to help her students and staff members. 

“I love being a part of teams that get to problem solve and incorporate new strategies or (tweak) old strategies to make them fit,” Biggs said. “I think it made for my growth and rise through the ranks.” 

Biggs said an important part of teaching is personalizing the way in which you teach to connect to students in order for them to be successful down the road. Some kids might need more time for a specific question or assignment, some might need more one-on-one discussion. Questions she asks herself include “What's their angle?” and “How can I prepare them for that?” 

Photo by Madison Bierl

“Whether they're going to Yale or whether they're going to get into welding, each one of them has a future that we are all impacting,” Biggs said. “The kid going into welding, he might not need high level writing skills, but he's certainly going to need time management. They're certainly going to need personal skills where we can sit down and we have to be able to talk.”

Dustin Dalquist, the principal at Lakewood Ranch High School, is impressed that Shea took the time to nominate Biggs for the award. 

Shea is currently undecided in her major, but is exploring the possibilities in environmental science and physics. 

“It's a testament to both of them and the hard work and the dedication that they put forth here at Lakewood Ranch,” Dalquist said.