Maranatha Math Faculty Receive Distinguished Stem Award

Each year, the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) awards 20 teachers across the nation who inspire students in the math, science, and engineering fields. This year, Maranatha High School’s math department faculty, Sandy Pelletier and Kimi Nahigian ’08, were amongst the 20 winners that were awarded the William Dahlgren Teacher of Excellence Award.

Both Mrs. Pelletier, who is Maranatha’s Math Department Chairperson, and Mrs. Nahigian have consistently demonstrated excellence in motivating students to achieve their best, shown integrity and at times doing more than what is required, respected their students by demonstrating that each of them is valuable and full of potential, and inspired their students to explore and create on their own from what is taught.

Maranatha’s Dean of Academics, Dr. Rocio Watkins, shared, “I nominated two of our outstanding math teachers who make a difference in students' lives, who advance math studies with rigor and compassion, who can teach a diverse classroom, and who become role models for female students pursuing STEM careers. After completing a rigorous online application, which required their bios and description of lesson plans and student performance, I submitted their names to the SAMPE Foundation and Mr. Joe Ingalls, in February. On April 17, 2018, our teachers were notified they had received the prestigious William Dahlgren Teacher of Excellence Award. I also received a phone call from Mr. Ingalls congratulating our teachers and our school."

The SAMPE Foundation was founded in 2006 and focuses on instilling the interest and passion for advanced materials and process in the next generation of leaders. The SAMPE Foundation promotes education and innovation in the fields of materials and processes on a global basis, particularly at the kindergarten through the 12th-grade level. The SAMPE Foundation allocates its funds to stimulate an interest in and provide access to the tools required for future technological growth in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).