West Michigan high school teacher attends State of the Union [Video]

Matt Vriesman also won National History Teacher of the Year last year, which he believes is why Congresswoman Hillary Scholten asked him to be her guest.

KENTWOOD, Mich. — One West Michigan teacher was recently surprised with what he calls the trip of a lifetime.

As Matt Vriesman will tell you himself, he’s a US history nerd.

“The State of the Union is literally a night that I look forward to every single year,” he said.

Sitting in his classroom Monday afternoon, he re-lived being a part of American history himself.

“It was quite a thrill,” said Vriesman.

A guest of Congresswoman Hillary Scholten’s at the very event he looks forward to each year, the State of the Union. An unexpected invite for the man named 2023’s National History Teacher of the Year from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

“I think that’s probably what put my name in the ring,” said Vriesman.

But one he was honored to accept. Vriesman specifically …