To receive the Presidential Award is very humbling because I have known and worked with so many outstanding teachers throughout my career. This award acknowledges the passion and dedication that I have put into working with young people over many years. I also see this award as recognition of my fellow staff that support me and provide me with the opportunity to do what I love. The Award reflects all of the hours that I never settled for just being good enough for my students.

Kathleen Boerigter Los Alamos, NM | 7-12, Science, 2015

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

Kathleen (Kathy) Boerigter has been teaching chemistry at Los Alamos High School for the past 18 years. She currently loves teaching Chemistry to 10th grade students and Advanced Placement Chemistry to 11th–12th grade students. She is the adviser for both Key Club and Science Bowl Team, and has taken both teams to numerous national and regional competitions. She is excited to be starting the new Chem Club this upcoming year. Before teaching in Los Alamos, Kathy taught at Brookline High School in Massachusetts and Amphitheater High in Tucson, Arizona.  Kathy is passionate about teaching science to students at all levels and rarely turns down an opportunity to teach. Most recently, she taught Chemistry in the Kitchen at a local children’s college and staged demonstrations with her previous students at the Community Science Fest. She has mentored numerous new teachers and student teachers over her 25 years of teaching, and enjoys seeing previous students enter the field of teaching and chemistry. Kathy earned a B.A., cum laude, in biology from Hope College in Holland, Michigan. She also received a M.A. in college student personnel from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. She is a National Board Certified Teacher in adolescent and young adult science. 

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