A Bronx educator is getting a major national honor.

Stephen Ritz is no stranger to attention. His cheese hat and work founding the "Green Bronx Machine" have been staples for News 12 The Bronx School Ambassadors over the last year. On Monday, he received a surprise at work - being named National Life Group Life Changer of the Year.

Chosen from over 700 nominees in all 50 states, Ritz originally founded the Green Bronx Machine in 2011 as an after-school program for high schoolers to learn about building healthy communities by growing vegetables.

That's grown over the years, and Ritz rebuilt the library at CS 55 with an indoor farm, kitchen and solar panels. This turned the room into the National Health, Wellness, and Learning Center, which is said to be the first career technical education elementary school in the country.

A lot of the food they grow goes to pantries that the Green Bronx Machine builds and stocks themselves. They also donate to families in need. The effort helped raise school attendance from 40% to 93% and has also provided 2,200 youth jobs in the borough.

"You know, we're here six days a week and when the pandemic hit, we didn't stop, and we can't stop and we won't stop. Together, we're going to grow something greater. When good news is happening in the Bronx, it's good news for America and I couldn't be more proud and honored," says Ritz.

With the award, Ritz gets $3,000 in cash. He tells News 12 he's thinking about donating it back to the school and to summer camps.