Macomb County Teacher Who Survived Cancer Recognized For Excellence

A Macomb County educator known for her dedication to help students succeed -- and who refused to let cancer interrupt her relationship with her students -- has been honored with the Excellence in Education award from the Michigan Lottery.Nikki Simons, who teaches second grade at Cheyenne Elementary School in Macomb Township, said her favorite parts of being an educator are "seeing the children smile and enjoying learning something new every day and also seeing former students and hearing that I've encouraged them to keep trying and never give up!"She said she chose education as a profession because "my mom was a teacher's assistant in schools when I was a child and I wanted to be just like her.