ASMS Teacher Wins Statewide Award Named After Former ASMS Instructor

At the 2024 NCWIT Aspirations Award Banquet, hosted by the University of Alabama Computer Science department on April 20, ASMS Computer Science instructor Ms. Deborah Gray was presented with the Dr. Albert Lilly Memorial Award. This award is issued annually to recognize an Alabama teacher for delivering exceptional Computer Science instruction to K-12 students.

The award is named for Dr. Albert Lilly, who received his PhD at University of Alabama in 1990 and then became the first Computer Science instructor at ASMS. Dr. Lilly worked at the school from 1991 until 2014 and is remembered as an engaging, energetic teacher with a warm heart and a keen sense of humor. He passed away in 2017. Dr. Lilly’s career positively impacted the lives of many students.

Ms. Gray has taught at ASMS since 2018 and has been an incredibly effective teacher. She has led her cybersecurity teams to big wins, including first place at the 2022 Argonne Cyber Guardians competition at the University of Central Florida. In 2020, she was recognized by Teach Cyber as a Cybersecurity Teacher of the Year. By helping ASMS implement College Board Advanced Placement courses in Computer Science – and preparing her students to earn outstanding national exam scores – she has cultivated the curriculum that Dr. Lilly designed.

We at ASMS are proud of Ms. Gray for winning the Dr. Albert Lilly Memorial Award, and we fondly remember the dear colleague and mentor for which it is named.