Southern Utah residents are invited to nominate their favorite STEM educators and businesses that have had a positive impact on STEM education for the 2023 Southern Utah STEM Awards. Winners will be announced and awarded at the Southern Utah STEM Awards banquet in April.
The STEM Awards, a groundbreaking collaboration between Southern Utah University, Utah Tech University, Southwest Technical College and Dixie Technical College, were created to recognize teachers, professors, instructors, and businesses in Southern Utah who have gone above and beyond to ensure that STEM is a part of everyday life. Southern Utah is home to many curious minds who want to explore the world of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and encourage others to do the same. So often these efforts go unnoticed or are done on personal time and budgets in the push to make STEM a bigger part of schools and the community. Nominations for the 2023 STEM Awards will be open through March 5, 2023.
“The STEM Awards are meant to thank those who are volunteering their time, energy, and resources to teach STEM in schools and in the community, and do so out of the goodness of their hearts,” said Dylan Kirklin, director of the SUU STEM Center for Teaching and Learning. “It’s a chance for us to give back to the people who have spent all their free time giving back.”
Businesses are also helping to promote STEM by inviting students and youth groups to their facilities to see STEM in effect. The Southern Utah STEM Awards would like to thank Slurps Up and the STEM Action Center for being steadfast partners and donors.
Utah Tech University is proud to support those who teach STEM in Southern Utah. The university offers multiple after-school programs, summer camps, workshops, STEM nights, and community events in the name of recognizing STEM. Additionally, Utah Tech hosts an open-lab in their Junior MakerSpace. They have supported over 400 programs in the community, and as of the 2021-2022 school year, had roughly 11,000 students participating in their STEM Center programs.
Along with hosting the Southern Utah STEM Awards, the SUU STEM Center also plays a role in promoting STEM activities in the community and in schools with monthly events like Toddler Tuesday and Wonder Wednesday. The STEM Center also hosts STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) Nights. These nights are for local elementary students and their families to experience science-based activities and gain access to really valuable experiences and information that can spark a new interest in them. During the 2021-2022 school year more than 4,100 community members attended the STEAM Nights.
In the last year, the SUU STEM Center donated over $60,000 in grant funding to schools, teachers and STEM outreach projects. In addition, the SUU STEM Center Resource Library provided nearly 800 equipment loans to teachers and the community. SUU students can get involved with the SUU STEM Center by volunteering. Students from all departments and fields are welcome to volunteer to get service hours or simply because they want to.
The STEM Awards are held to publicly acknowledge and thank those who make STEM a priority in schools and the community. Several Southern Utah counties take part in the STEM Awards including Beaver, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Kane, Millard, Piute, San Juan, Sevier, Washington, and Wayne.
The 2023 STEM Awards Banquet will be held in the R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center at Southern Utah University on Wednesday, April 19, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the event are $20. Click here to submit a nomination or purchase tickets for the banquet.