Excellence inspires excellence. My sophomore mathematics teacher was a PAEMST awardee and she was one of a handful of teachers who I aspired to emulate as a professional. She was also the first person to insist that I reach higher than I could imagine. In my career I've continued to reach to do better. The Presidential Award recognizes teachers as highly skilled, qualified mathematician and scientist educators who are passionate and deeply reflective about both their content and their teaching.

Marianna Ruggerio Rockford, IL | 7-12, Science, 2023

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

Marianna Ruggerio has been an educator for 15 years and has spent the last eight years working at Auburn High School in the Rockford Public School District teaching all levels of physics. Prior to that, she taught at East High School in the same district, as well as at Glenbrook South and Mundelein High Schools, both in Illinois, for two years each. She has also taught physics courses for elementary education majors and Psychological Perspectives in Education at Rockford University. As physics teachers are often isolated in their schools, it has been of utmost importance for Marianna to be connected to other physics teachers through social media and writing. Marianna also holds leadership roles with the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) where she serves on the executive board of directors. She is also a fellow with the NSF-funded Illinois and Secondary Schools Partnership (IPaSS) with the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC), where she mentors, trains, and collaborates with teachers of physics across the state of Illinois. Within the classroom, Marianna has integrated high-quality, evidence-based curricula alongside an emphasis on equity and learning about and acting on underrepresentation in STEM. Marianna has been recognized by the Illinois section of AAPT's Outstanding High School Teacher Award and its Distinguished Service Citation. Her master’s thesis on the Recruitment and Retention of Female Latinx Students in Physics was awarded Rockford University's Outstanding Research Award. Marianna has a B.S. in physics from UIUC and an M.Ed. in urban education from Rockford University. She is certified in science education for grades 6-12 and mathematics education for grades 9-12.

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