Saint Mary’s University junior Evelyn Sanchez and senior Simon Warmkagathje, as well as Kelsey Philipsek, who is a student in the M.A. in Teaching program, have been named the inaugural Noyce Scholars.
Saint Mary’s was recently awarded a $1.18 million NSF Noyce Grant in support of the university’s new Inclusive STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Teacher Education Pipeline (ISTEP) project. ISTEP is designed to increase the number of secondary STEM teachers (or teacher candidates) from diverse backgrounds who are committed to teaching in high-need local education schools in southeastern Minnesota.
Both Sanchez and Warmkagathje had their stories shared in the Winona Daily News and La Crosse Tribune.
In the article, Sanchez said she always enjoyed school and even played school as a child with her stuffed animals (and even her grandparents) as her pupils. Sanchez, who hopes to teach math, said it was her grandfather who encouraged her to pursue education as a career. Sanchez believes this opportunity gives her the chance to be a good role model.
“I am not ashamed to say I still struggle with math,” she said. “I want to show future generations that everyone can learn STEM. I also want to share my story on the importance of grit and perseverance.”
Likewise senior Simon Warmkagathje of rural St. Charles, Minn., has always wanted to teach, and throughout his life, others have encouraged him to go into teaching, recognizing the traits of a good educator in the outgoing and personable leader.
“My passion is teaching people how to pursue their dreams, no matter the circumstances,” he said. “For that reason, I believe education is the field in which I can make the biggest impact on my community.”
Philipsek began her career working as a Civil Engineer designing roadways and traffic and transit networks. As she transitioned to teaching, she says her life took on new meaning.
“In my college years I had worked with students in the math tutoring center, I realized confidence and self-worth seem inherently tied with math,” she said. “I want to teach students math because I do not want young people to write off a STEM career because they ‘can’t do math’ or they aren’t ‘good enough’; I do not want math to be a barrier for them to achieve the career they want. I also want to teach math to help students learn there are many ways to be successful and STEM careers come in many shapes and sizes.”
Photo caption: Evelyn Sanchez and Simon Warmkagathje
