ALUMNI NEWS
2015 Presidential Award for Excellence Recognizes Conklin’s Teaching Mike Conklin (ID ’92), was recognized in July by President Barack Obama as one of 108 mathematics and science teacher recipients of the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching for 2015. “These teachers are shaping America’s success through their passion for math and science,” President Obama said, when announcing the 2015 honorees. He continued, “Their leadership and commitment empower our children to think critically and creatively about science, technology, engineering and math. The work these teachers are doing in our classrooms today will help ensure that America stays on the cutting edge tomorrow.” The Presidential Award for Excellence is awarded annually to outstanding K-12 science and mathematics teachers from across the country. The winners are selected by a panel of distinguished scientists, mathematicians and educators following an initial selection process completed at the state level. Each year the award alternates between educators teaching kindergarten through 6th grade and those teaching 7th through 12th grades. Growing up in Indiana, Conklin was inspired by his own teachers and knew from a young age he wanted to be a teacher and help others learn by passing on this inspiration. Conklin, 42, is a math teacher at University High School in Spokane Valley, Wash. Recipients, two from each of the 50 states and four other U.S. territories, will be honored in-person at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., in late summer. The awardees honored in 2015 teach 7th through 12th grade. Winners of this Presidential honor receive a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation to be used at their discretion. “I’ve always been excited by the idea of learning,” said Conklin, who has taught all levels of math in his 10 years at University High. He was nominated for the award in 2013 and submitted additional materials including a personal essay and a video that shows him teaching pre-calculus. He said the most noteworthy moment in the video shows him pausing to help a student who didn’t understand a problem. “I think that’s something that I do really well—make connections with students,” Conklin said, noting that some continue to visit him long after they finish his class. Conklin said he focuses on teaching students how they use math in their everyday lives, even if they’re not pursuing math or engineering degrees. “I find places where hard topics are used,” he said.
32 Pearls & Rubies
Mike Conklin (ID ’92), a math teacher at University High School in Spokane Valley, Wash., is a recipient of the 2015 Presidential Award of Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Photo credit: Dan Pelle, The Spokane-Review
“Even if no calculations are involved, there’s still mathematical thinking involved when cropping a picture in photography or figuring out which cell phone plan to buy, for example.” And he has a unique way of rewarding students who show initiative and turn in their homework on time. “When I played football, we used to get helmet stickers for doing something good,” he said. “So I started giving out calculator stickers.” This fall Conklin will begin his 20th year of teaching—10 at University High and nine previously in Maryland, while he pursued his master’s degree at the University of Maryland, and one year at Brixner Junior High School in Klamath Falls, Ore. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho, where he is a 1992 initiate of the Idaho Chapter of FarmHouse. Conklin remains involved with the Idaho Chapter today, serving on the Idaho FarmHouse Association Board. He lives in Rockford, Wash., with his wife, Tanya, who also works in education, and his daughter, Emerson, who is in second grade. Although he is a now well-tenured and a nationally recognized educator, Mike does not anticipate slowing down his passion for teaching anytime soon. Conklin reflected, “I definitely want to keep teaching—my excitement for doing so and educating the next generation is at an all-time high.”
