Cynthia Celino, a teacher at Picayune School District’s Center for Alternative Education, has been named Nissan of Picayune’s Teacher of the Week.

Celino teaches social studies at the school, which also includes the areas of history, geography and economics.

She has been in the education field for the past six years, all of which have been at the Center for Alternative Education.

Her favorite aspect of teaching is watching her students become interested in history.

“To see the light bulb go on when they begin to put all the stories of history together and realize that it’s not that complicated after all,” Celino said.

She also wants her students to know that they are important.

“I try to instill in each student the knowledge that they are valuable, capable and loved,” Celino said.

Before she entered the education field, she sang in a gospel trio, cooked in restaurants and drove trucks. She also has several years of experience driving a school bus.