White House bestows highest national STEM teaching honor on UOG alumna
91快播 alumna Michelle De Guzman, 鈥09 BAE, who is now an instructional coach with the Guam Department of Education and a literacy kindergarten teacher with PBS Guam, has received the highest honor of the U.S. government for K-12th grade STEM teaching.
De Guzman is one of 102 teachers nationwide selected to receive the , which includes a certificate signed by the president of the United States, a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation, and the opportunity to join the active network of more than 5,200 PAEMST educators throughout the nation.
Established by Congress in 1983, the award recognizes teachers who have deep content knowledge of the subjects they teach as well as the ability to motivate and enable students to be successful in those areas.
鈥淩eceiving the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching is humbling, rewarding, and affirming,鈥 De Guzman said. 鈥淚 feel honored to be recognized with other amazing educators who simply love what they do and are determined to make learning fun, meaningful, and relevant.鈥
De Guzman and the other awardees were recognized during a in February hosted by the PAEMST program, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the National Science Foundation.
鈥淭his award recognizes the hard work of our students, parents/guardians, colleagues, and our families and friends that support and invest in our profession and encourage and challenge us to be excellent in all that we do,鈥 she said.
In addition to De Guzman鈥檚 bachelor鈥檚 in elementary education from UOG, she also holds a master鈥檚 in education in teaching and learning from Liberty University (Va.). She has taught with GDOE for 12 years and participated as a project member for the GDOE Technology Standards and Enhancing Education through Technology.
She has won numerous awards throughout her teaching career, including the 2019 Superhero Award presented by the GDOE Superintendent and Guam Education Board Chairman and the 2019 Sylvan鈥檚 Favorite Teacher Award. Additionally, De Guzman was one of six finalists for the Guam Teacher of the Year and a two-time recipient of the Teacher Wish List Grant.