Watertown, SD Automotive Teacher Cody Sokolosky Wins $75,000 Harbor Freight Teaching Excellence Prize

Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - Cody Sokolosky, an automotive instructor at Northeast Technical High School, received the surprise of a lifetime on Tuesday morning when he was awarded a $75,000 prize for teaching excellence from Harbor Freight Tools for Schools.

Sokolosky made history at the Tuesday event as the first-ever winner of the prestigious award from South Dakota. He is one of just 25 public high school skilled trades teachers selected nationwide from a highly competitive pool of 569 applicants across 49 states.

Over 200 people gathered at the Watertown high school at 10:30 a.m. to celebrate the surprise announcement. The $75,000 prize will be split to directly benefit both the educator and the local community's future mechanics: $50,000 is designated for the Northeast Technical High School automotive program, while $25,000 is awarded directly to Sokolosky.

Earning the prize required a rigorous selection process. Sokolosky’s application advanced through three rounds of judging by a panel of experts in education, industry, philanthropy, and civic leadership.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize, which has distributed a total of $2 million to outstanding skilled trades teachers across the country. The initiative aims to recognize and strongly support excellence in Career and Technical Education (CTE), elevating the teachers who prepare students for crucial roles in the workforce.