Shantel Dixon, a 2011 graduate of Santa Fe Capital High School who came back as a teacher, has been awarded the Golden Apple for excellence in teaching, KRQE News reports.

“It felt like going back home,” Dixon said about returning to her alma mater to teach, after graduating from New Mexico State University.

Dixon taught at SFCHS for seven years then became assistant principal at El Dorado Community School, according to the KRQE report.

"Students say they adore her and they know there is nothing she won’t do for them which earned her a Golden Apple," according to KRQE.

Dixon was one of seven New Mexico teachers to win the award, according to the Golden Apple website.

"Those who are recognized are illustrative of the many talented and skilled professionals working hard every day to inspire students in New  Mexico classrooms," the organization states.

The awards rotate every three years between elementary, middle and high school, according to Golden Apple.

"Golden Apple award-winning  teachers have been recognized in a broad range of subjects, from physical education, to physics, from special Education to advanced Placement, from the core to elective subjects," the organization states.