ABOUT

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

You’ll find answers for some of our most frequently asked questions about National Life Group’s LifeChanger of the Year below. If you've gone through the page and find that your question hasn't been answered, please contact us.

About Our Program

  • National Life Group's LifeChanger of the Year is an annual program recognizing K-12 educators and school employees nationwide. Our program celebrates those making a significant difference in students' lives by exemplifying excellence, positive influence, and leadership. Since 2011, we’ve been able to recognize more than 7,800 school employees from more than 2,100 school districts and have awarded more than $720,000 to schools and school employees.

  • LifeChanger of the Year is sponsored and run by National Life Group, a more than 175-year-old financial services company that serves K-12 educators nationwide. National Life and its distribution partners have been helping school employees retire with dignity for decades. Seeing the work that our nation’s school employees do, the passion behind it, and its lasting outcome inspires us. We created the LifeChanger of the Year program to shine a light on the field of education, celebrate school employees, and provide them with the resources they need to succeed while they’re in the classroom and beyond.

    National Life Group’s charitable arm, the National Life Group Foundation, provides cash prizes for the LifeChanger of the Year program. Since its inception in 2006, the goal of the National Life Group Foundation has been to build solid connections and do good in the communities in which we live and work. We do this in several ways, such as providing grants to nonprofit and educational organizations, giving our employees 40 hours of paid volunteer time annually, sponsoring events, and offering in-kind donations. We also support mental health and wellness programs for K-12 students and school employees.

Nomination Eligibility

  • All K-12 public, private, and charter school or school district employees are eligible for National Life Group's LifeChanger of the Year. Our LifeChangers are teachers, principals, administrators, nurses, custodians, cooks, librarians, bus drivers, parent liaisons, coaches, superintendents, and counselors, to name a few. They are the people in our schools making a positive difference for students.

  • Absolutely. We recognize that one nomination doesn’t always encapsulate every way that a LifeChanger positively impacts students. Please note, however, that we will only create one profile for each LifeChanger per school year. We encourage you to comment on their profile so that others can see your LifeChanger's impact.

  • Yes - you can renominate a LifeChanger if they work in a K-12 school or district. We'd love to hear about what your LifeChanger has been up to since they were first nominated. We'll create a new profile for each school year they're renominated.

Submitting a Nomination

  • Nominations for the Spotlight Award close on October 31st, 2025.

    Nominations for all other awards close on December 31st, 2025.

  • After nominations close at the end of the year, our national selection committee, comprised of past LifeChanger of the Year winners and education professionals, will review the nominees to determine the award winners. All winners will be surprised at their schools with their awards in the spring of each school year.

  • Yes. If your LifeChanger is selected as a winner, we will contact you before we surprise them at their school. We will also email you periodic updates throughout the award cycle.

    To help your LifeChanger become a LifeChanger of the Year winner, click here to learn how you can support their nomination.

  • Please make sure your video meets the following technical requirements:

    * Less than 500 MB

    * MP4 file type

    * Less than 2 minutes long

    If your video meets the above requirements and you still need help uploading it, please get in touch with us.

  • We'll celebrate every eligible nominee on this website. However, we review and edit every nomination for spelling/grammar mistakes and privacy. This process can take a few business days.

    When nomination volumes are high (i.e., during the holidays and towards the end of the nomination period), the review process can take up to seven business days, which is one reason why we recommend you submit your nomination sooner rather than later. We appreciate your patience and can't wait to help you recognize your LifeChanger.

  • We review and edit every nomination before posting them on the website. We primarily review nominations for spelling/grammatical mistakes, but we also reserve the right to modify or delete any details that contain sensitive information. This policy also applies to comments posted on a LifeChanger’s profile. For more information, please read our program rules.

    If you have read through the rules and still feel there is something particular about your LifeChanger that people should know, please get in touch with us.

Supporting Your LifeChanger

  • There are many ways you can help us honor and recognize a LifeChanger. For example, you can visit your LifeChanger’s profile and leave a positive comment to tell them how they changed your life. Click here for more ideas!

  • We review and approve all comments before they’re posted to the website to safeguard against spam and ensure all comments are positive and supportive. This website is a place for recognition, appreciation, and encouragement. We reserve the right to edit, shorten, move, or delete any comment at our discretion.

  • Nominations

    Nominating a school employee or teacher in your community is a great way to thank them for the hard work they have done. When you nominate someone, they can win National Life Group's LifeChanger of the Year award. If the LifeChanger in your life has yet to be nominated, you can nominate them here.

    Comments

    We encourage anyone who knows your LifeChanger to leave comments on their profile to show support, share a story, congratulate or thank them for their excellent work. We moderate comments, but the majority are made public. Although the comments section is primarily a place for the community to express their appreciation, our selection committee will also consider the comments as examples of your LifeChanger’s commitment to the selection criteria.

  • We don’t have a set deadline. We never turn the comment feature off, and you can show your support at any time, even after the nomination period closes.

  • You can’t “vote” for a nominee. Our national selection committee chooses the winners based on whether or not they meet the award criteria. However, we encourage you to leave a supportive comment on your LifeChanger’s profile. All comments will be taken into consideration by the committee.

  • Comments are a great way to tell your LifeChanger how much they mean to you. They will also be taken into consideration by the selection committee as examples of the LifeChanger’s commitment to the following:

    -Making a positive impact on the lives of students

    -Enhancing their school or district’s atmosphere, culture, and pride

    -Demonstrating exemplary leadership at the school and/or district level

    -Possessing a proven record of professional excellence

    -Showing commitment to building a nurturing environment that supports learning

    -Adhering to the highest moral and ethical standards

    Comments are also one of many ways to show spirit, and our selection committee will consider them when determining the Spirit Award winner. Click here to learn about more ways to support your LifeChanger.

Information for Nominees

  • Please click here to change your profile picture.

  • No. Once we verify your nomination, we will email you a link to your LifeChanger of the Year profile that you can share with friends, family, students, or anyone who supports your nomination. If you'd like to provide additional information, we will send you a follow-up email within a month of posting your profile.

  • We’ll email you a copy of your certificate a few weeks after posting your profile. This email has a form where you can request a physical certificate to be mailed directly to you. Please get in touch with us if you do not receive your email certificate within a few weeks of your nomination.

  • After nominations close at the end of the year, our national selection committee, comprised of past LifeChanger of the Year winners and education professionals, will review the nominees to determine the award winners. All winners will be surprised at their schools with their awards in the spring of each school year.

  • We archived any nominations and comments submitted before the 2016-17 program. If you were nominated before the 2016-17 school year and are interested in reading your LifeChanger of the Year profile, please get in touch with us.

    In rare instances, we will remove the profile and comments of LifeChanger of the Year nominees who do not meet the program criteria. We reserve the right to edit, amend, modify, shorten, or delete any profile or comment at our discretion. For more information, please read our program rules.