Receiving the Presidential Award is a monumental honor. I was humbled to be considered for this award knowing the outstanding educators that do not get this opportunity. I am thankful for the positive impact others have had in my teaching career. I appreciate the patience and effort of my mentors, the encouragement of my peers, the support of my administrators, and the incredible understanding of my family. As a Presidential Award winner, I will continue to strive to help students succeed.

Gregory Smith Salem, OR | 7-12, Science, 2017

The official biography below was current at the time of the award.

Gregory "Greg" Smith has been an educator for 28 years and has spent the last 15 years teaching at West Salem High School. He spent his first 13 years teaching at North Salem High School. Greg currently teaches 9-12th-grade Robotics Projects, Introduction to Computer Programming, Advanced Placement Computer Science, and Advanced Computer Projects. At his school, Greg initiated a computer science program, a robotics program, and has served as an instructional leader. He taught robotics with Oregon Computer Science Association’s Superquest teacher training program. He is also scheduled to present at the 2019 Oregon Career Technical Education (CTE) and Industry Summit. Greg coaches VEX Robotics and SkillsUSA Mobile Robotics Technology competitive teams. His teams consistently advance to national and international levels. He also advises a team of students that works with the Oregon Department of Transportation to design and build a device to inspect culverts. Greg has served as commissioner for Oregon VEX Robotics and hosts several competitions each season. He also hosts the Oregon VEX Idea Factory for new coaches and their teams. Greg earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Oregon State University and a M.S. in secondary education from Western Oregon University. Greg is certified as a CTE instructor in information systems and is certified to teach advanced mathematics.

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