English teacher Leah Pevar was astounded to learn she was nominated by the Encino Chamber of Commerce for its Teacher of the Year award.

“I had been at a meeting in the morning and a flyer was in my box when I got back to school around lunch time,” Pevar said.  “I was very honored and surprised.”

The Encino Chamber of Commerce is a business community based in Tarzana consisting of more than 400 member companies of various services. They host a variety of community events, including this year’s 23rd annual Teacher of the Year awards dinner.

The nomination is humbling yet touching to Pevar since teaching her students is a strong passion of hers. Pevar found an interest in teaching as a first grader, originally being deeply interested in collecting school supplies. But as she became older, Pevar learned she wanted to share the love she had for learning with her own set of students.

Nothing excites Pevar more than talking to her class about a classic novel such as “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, and most importantly, finding her students becoming unexpectedly equally as excited.

“I love talking about novels and introducing new stories, new novels and new authors to kids,” Pevar said.

The dinner will take place at the Hilton Woodland Hills Hotel on April 20.

“It’s really nice to be acknowledged for the work I put in,” Pevar said. “It feels good.”