The Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science teaching is truly humbling, as I have had the privilege to work with many outstanding STEM educators over the years, and I am honored to receive this recognition. Being part of this cohort will allow me to continue to grow as an educator and learn more best practices from exceptional instructors from all over the country.

Kirstin Bullington Columbia, SC | 7-12, Science, 2023

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

Kirstin Bullington has taught science and engineering for 21 years. She is currently the Next Energy Engineering Instructor at the Richland Two Institute of Innovation (R2i2), where her 10th-12th grade students design and optimize alternative energy solutions for local and global challenges. Her students and their energy solutions have placed in several national competitions, including Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, Global Solutions STEM Challenge (IREX), and the Biomimicry Youth Design Competition. Their collaboration with a school in Senegal resulted in a modular power apparatus which was awarded a patent in 2023. Before her eight-year tenure at R2i2, Kirstin taught science and engineering at W.J. Keenan High School for 11 years and biology at Arts High School for two years. Prior to teaching, Kirstin was a health specialist volunteer in the Peace Corps, Togo, where she discovered her passion for education. She is an alumna of Teachers for Global Classrooms (Senegal), the Transatlantic Outreach Program (Germany), and the Fulbright Japan-US Teacher Exchange for Education for Sustainable Development. Participation in each of these programs led her to discover that students show greater aptitude and interest in engineering when presented from a relevant global context. Kirstin is a Lemelson-MIT Invention Education Fellow, was the recipient of the South Carolina Outstanding Biology Teacher Award in 2013, and was named the 2022 South Carolina STEM Educator of the Year. Kirstin earned her B.S. in biology and B.A. in music from the University of Evansville, and her MPH in international health and development from Tulane University. She holds National Board Certification in adolescent and young adult science.

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