A teacher and military spouse in Virginia Beach have serious reason to celebrate. Kelly Holbert, 33, has been awarded the prestigious Excellence in Education Award by KinderCare Learning Companies for her commitment to supporting children to achieve success in the classroom.

Of the 42,000 educators, 400 were nominated by their colleagues, including Holbert. He was among the 27 people who received the award.

Holbert is the lead toddler teacher at General Booth KinderCare in Virginia Beach and said: WAVY He said he was hired seven years ago by Tiffany Dixon, district leader for Hampton Road KinderCare, at General Booth KinderCare with no experience.

“There was something really special about his personality,” Dixon told WAVY. “I felt like what he was offering these kids was something we couldn’t say no to.”

When Holbert was hired, she was a stay-at-home mom with a 2-year-old child and her husband was on duty.

“We had our second daughter,” Holbert told WAVY. “When he came home from deployment, my oldest was two and the second had just turned six months old, and I said, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ I have no friends, no family, I have nothing here. ‘It’s just me and the kids in this flat.’ “And I said, ‘I have to do something.'”

And so he did. Holbert put her daughters in the same daycare where she was a teacher and told WAVY it was one of the best decisions she ever made.

Becoming emotional, she told the media: “We just moved here because of military service and I had nothing – then I took the chance to work here and these women are my life. The parents I met became the closest people to me. I really love these children and their parents.”

As part of the award, Holbert will receive a $3,500 cash award and a year of professional development opportunities from KinderCare Learning Companies.