Northeast High School alum Ziz Abdur-Ra’oof will return to the stage as the Master of Ceremonies at the 36th annual Excellence in Education Awards next week and have the honor of announcing the 2022 Anne Arundel County Public Schools Teacher of the Year.
Abdur-Ra’oof is no stranger to AACPS. After graduating from Northeast, where he was a three-sport standout, and the University of Maryland and going on to play for the National Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs, Abdur-Ra’oof has spent years as what he calls a “performance coach,” imparting his lived experience to students in Anne Arundel County and beyond to propel them to be successful.
His NFL career was cut short due to injury, however, his love for education and supporting students and educators have lived on through his consulting and coaching work throughout the years. He currently lives in Michigan.
“Ziz certainly knows firsthand as a student and as someone who has worked with our students in recent years about the impact great teachers can have,” said Mark Hoffmann, president of the 21st Century Education Foundation, which hosts the Excellence in Education Awards. “We are thrilled to have him back in Anne Arundel County to help celebrate our amazing educators once again.”
The event begins at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 26, and will be held at the Live! Event Center at Arundel Mills. Those without tickets can watch it live on AACPS’ YouTube channel.
Abdur-Ra’oof wrote and published his first book, “Accelerate: A Guided Playbook for Young Dreamers, Scholars, Artists & Athletes” in October 2020 and is working on his second book that is projected to launch this fall.
“No matter where I go, Anne Arundel County will always be home,” Abdur-Ra’oof said. “Emceeing the last live event in 2019 was an awesome experience and I can’t wait to be a part of this year’s ceremonies.”