Adam Riazi

Ona, WV | 7-12, Mathematics, 2021

What motivates you to contribute to excellence in STEM teaching?

As an allegedly effective educator, I instill in my students that learning is a collaborative endeavor, and that a high-quality STEAM education is one of the civil rights issues of our time. There is no such thing as teaching in the absence of learning. When my students learn, I have succeeded in becoming a teacher. Plain and simple. I aim to inspire my students to see the world as larger than themselves, yet not so large that they cannot change it.

What has been the most transformative moment that affirmed your impact on STEM education?

The moments that affirm my impact on STEAM education occur spontaneously, organically, and magically in my classroom each day. Education is not a destination, but a journey. Transformation does not happen in moments, but in retrospective reflection, when we realize we are not the same as we once were. My students and I are both things shaped in passing, like water over rocks.

Using your platform as a Presidential Awardee, how do you hope to advance our nation in STEM?

I am an unfortunate optimist and hopeless dilettante, an indiscriminate aficionado, a general enthusiast. And a believer in that which is yet to come.

Biography

Adam S. Riazi, an educator in West Virginia for 17 years, teaches mathematics and computer science at Cabell Midland High School, proudly working there for the past five years. He is a member of the Leadership Team and the Professional Development Team. He also leads and facilitates all school professional learning communities. He previously taught mathematics at Lincoln County High School for 12 years. Adam currently teaches Advanced Placement Statistics, Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles, and Trigonometry to 9th-12th grade students. Through his classes, he instills in his students that learning is a collaborative endeavor, and that high-quality STEAM education is one of the civil rights issues of our time. Through his classes, Adam’s students mapped the Milky Way Galaxy using radio telescopes at Green Bank Observatory, performed research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, won awards in the Congressional App Challenge, and planned and hosted community Hour of Code events in their school, district, and state. Adam is a National Board Certified Teacher in adolescent and young adult mathematics. He was named as a Mountaineer Mathematics Master Teacher Noyce Fellow, where he develops, promotes, and leverages mathematics teacher leadership across West Virginia. He was also honored as a Computer Science Teachers Association national educator award recipient and a multiple time National Center for Women & Information Technology award winner. Adam earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, a post-baccalaureate certificate in secondary mathematics education, and a master’s degree in leadership studies, all from Marshall University where he was a member of The Society of Yeager Scholars. He is certified in secondary mathematics, computer science, and administration.

High-resolution version of the teacher profile photograph

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