Mr. Carlson is in his 15th year as the adviser to the Central Times. He was named the 2020 Karen Becker Newspaper Adviser of the Year by the Kettle Moraine Press Association and received the Rising Star Award in 2013 by the Journalism Education Association. He was also selected as a 2015 ASNE Reynolds Institute fellow and holds a Certified Journalism Educator (CJE) certification with JEA. "KCar," as students call him, earned a Bachelor's degree in Writing/Journalism from North Central College in Naperville, Ill., a Masters degree in Journalism Education from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies degree focused on Culture and Society from North Central College. Carlson has been teaching at Naperville Central High School in the Communication Arts department since 2000. An entertainment and pop culture junkie, you can find Mr. Carlson watching movies, listening to music, and reading books when he's not reading student-written news copy. You might also find him on a local stage performing in a musical theatre production or cheering on his beloved Green Bay Packers.

"Every human being is a story worth telling."