Sara-Elizabeth Senseney

Burnsville, NC | 7-12, Science, 2023

What motivates you to contribute to excellence in STEM teaching?

Science is a window to the world. I believe that all students deserve high-quality learning opportunities that allow them to explore, investigate, and discover. I am motivated to leverage any resources I can to provide these learning opportunities to the youth in my rural community.

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

In order for our nation to remain a leader in STEM, students from all backgrounds must have access to engaging STEM education. As a teacher, I strive to help students see the relevance of STEM in their lives for reasons ranging from having the background information to make informed health decisions to considering careers in STEM.

Biography

Sara-Elizabeth “Sallie” Senseney has taught at Mountain Heritage High School for 15 years. She teaches 9th-12th grade students in Earth Science, Biology, and Advanced Placement Biology, leads STEM-focused clubs, and serves as the Science Department Chair. Sallie is a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for STEM Teachers recipient and coordinates science professional development for K-12 teachers in her district through the award. Sallie believes that rooting science in real-world phenomena creates meaningful learning experiences for all students. She provides hands-on learning opportunities to anchor students’ understanding of science. Sallie’s students study nature by observing study plots in the forest on campus, and they collect macroinvertebrates in a nearby river to learn about bioindicators of water quality. Sallie is passionate about exploring the world and learning from other teachers. She has traveled to India, Finland, Estonia, and Sweden to visit schools and participate in cultural exchanges and recently experienced the magic of winter in Yellowstone National Park as an Educator of Excellence with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. During the 2022-2023 school year, Sallie was a fellow with the North Carolina Education Policy Fellowship Program. Sallie received a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s degree in biological sciences from Clemson University. She is a National Board Certified Teacher and holds certifications in high school biology and high school general science.

High-resolution version of the teacher profile photograph

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