Melissa Aguirre was preparing her eighth graders for the state's English proficiency test when her principal and city education officials paid an unscheduled visit with good news. They told her she won a city Big Apple Award for outstanding teaching.

"It was definitely a surprise," Aguirre said. "I was so grateful."

Aguirre teaches English at Junior High School 217 in Briarwood, Queens. For many of her students, it is their second language.

It's a world she learned about when she became the guardian of her 14-year-old cousin.

"Unfortunately, while she brought with her many assets, many critical thinking skills, she lacked some of the foundational skills, mainly the ability to read and write in her own language, in Spanish," she said.

So Aguirre began searching for a school in Queens with bilingual education programs and placed her cousin here. Ten years later, she began teaching the very same program at the school.

"The passion that I have for working with English language learners and newcomers to this country is because of her journey and our journey together," she said.

This is not the first honor for Aguirre. Four years ago, she was one of 28 teachers selected to travel and work side-by-side with NASA astronomers in its prestigious Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors program.

A top official with the city Department of Education says Aguirre is a shining example of the good work done by teachers in the city.

"They love their job, and you can see it like what you saw with Ms. Aguirre, who was just really excited to teach her students," said Ursulina Ramirez, the chief operating officer of the DOE.

Aguirre says she was reminded earlier on this day of just how much she enjoys her job when she was feeling frazzled about preparing her students for the state test. She often focuses on helping students manage stresses, and she said they gave the lesson back to her.

"One of the students said to me, 'Miss, right, take those three deep breaths and miss, remember you're calm.com.' So when the students start to remind you of what you've hoped to impart upon them, which is how to deal with those triggers, how to deal with the stressors of everyday life, when they begin to remind you of that and teach you that when you need it most, which for me, was in that moment, that's one of the ways you know that you as a team, you as a school community are making an impact."

Aguirre is one of 17 teachers to receive the Big Apple Award this year.