Eric Gopen, a Parkland High School teacher, has received a $2,000 grant as part of 2018 Voya Unsung Heroes awards competition.

Voya Financial Inc. is a leading provider of workplace retirement solutions.

Gopen’s innovative teaching idea, “Emergency Medical Technician,” focuses on providing students with the opportunity to earn a national registry EMT certification that can be used to work on an ambulance anywhere in the country.

With the Voya grant, students will learn about the human body and how to handle medical and traumatic emergencies.

They will learn about the Emergency Medical Services system by becoming an active participant and will apply classroom knowledge in the field by treating actual patients.

Class lectures will provide the base on which students will build their emergency treatment skills.

Psychomotor skills practice will teach students to appropriately touch and communicate with the patients they will encounter in the real world, riding along with certified EMTs and paramedics as well as meeting with people in special populations outside of the general public.

“Our Unsung Heroes program continues to recognize teachers who go above and beyond to inspire today’s students in the classroom,” said Heather Lavallee, president of Tax-Exempt Markets at Voya Financial. “We are proud to honor teachers like Eric Gopen whose inspiring program is making a difference in the lives of young people. This commitment and passion for teaching closely aligns with our focus at Voya on helping all Americans prepare for their unique financial futures.”

Through the Voya Unsung Heroes program, Voya Financial awards grants to K-12 educators nationwide to honor their innovative teaching methods, creative educational projects, and ability to positively influence their students.

For more than 20 years, the program has awarded over $5 million in grants to more than 2,000 educators across the United States.

Selected from a group of more than 1,200 applicants, Gopen is one of only 100 winners across the country who will receive this award to help fund and bring his program to life.

In addition, he will now compete with other finalists for one of the top three prizes - an additional $5,000, $10,000 or $25,000 from Voya Financial.

To learn more about this year’s winning projects, as well as those from previous years, visit the Unsung Heroes website at Voya.com/UnsungHeroes.

Applications for the 2019 Voya Unsung Heroes awards are being accepted through the website until April 30, 2019.

Unsung Heroes is part of Voya’s broader efforts to empower teachers to become leaders by promoting their careers, recognizing high-achieving accomplishments, providing training opportunities and offering financial support to achieve their goals.