SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — The state Education Department says a Scottsbluff High School staff member is Nebraska’s 2015 Teacher of the Year.

Shelby Aaberg (AH’-burg) was honored during a surprise award presentation at the school on Friday. The math teacher says he teaches his students “how to think, not just comply.”

A panel of Nebraska educators selected Aaberg, who will participate in the national Teacher of the Year competition later this year.

Aaberg has 10 years of teaching experience. He earned a bachelor’s at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master’s in mathematics education at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2009.