2006 Mentor Educator Awards

Mr. Micah Wolfe
(Math)

Mr. Robert Cotton
(CAD)

Mr. Cotton was one of the teachers that pushed me to do my best in high school. Being one of the few females in his classes, he always wanted to see me succeed and never treated me different then the rest of the students. He was the one that helped me decide to attend PSU. I am thankful that Mr. Cotton took time out of his busy schedule to bring a few students up to University Park to decide between Architectural Engineering and Architecture. Being taught CAD in high school kept me from falling behind in my engineering classes here at PSU. He is one of the few teachers that checks up on me to make sure I’m still doing my best and is always curious how classes are going.

Thanks Mr. Cotton for getting our classes college credits, they put me ahead of other AEs!
-- Natalie Bryner (Junior, Architectural Engineering)

Mr. Bill Scilingo
(Physics)

Mr. Scilingo helped me to place myself.  He was always very encouraging toward enhancing my (and any other student's) education.  My participation in his annual tour to Penn State's Nuclear Reactor got me more interested in Engineering and what Penn State had to offer.  One of the most important concepts he illustrated to me was that you will always get farther by speaking up, asking questions, and acting  interested, and because of this, I am sure that my professors are more aware of me in such large classes. 

Mr. Scilingo is also a great role model because he is excited about physics, excited about his job and career of being a high school physics teacher, and excited to teach all of us from St. Marys.  He surely has left an impression on me and I'm sure many others.
-- Korrie Yetzer (Sophomore, Nuclear Engineering)

Mrs. Vicki Uhrinek
(Math)

Mrs. Uhrinek is a woman who does it all.  From juggling two senior AP classes to teaching freshman general math in ninth grade, she deals with all sides of Highlands High School.  She was always there with an encouraging word, no matter what challenge I was facing.  She helped me decide to major in engineering, even when I highly doubted myself.  From knowing Mrs. Uhrinek personally, I watched her this past year help her mother-in-law through cancer and chemotherapy, her son with major digestive problems as well as balancing everyday classes and meetings with students before and after school hours, during her available plan periods and also throughout lunch times that she had.

Mrs. Uhrinek not only balanced life and class, but she was always filled with enthusiasm whenever it came to teaching.  Sometimes she would get so excited about the subjects she taught we'd have to ask her to slow down a bit so we could catch up (9am seems to catch most high school students off guard when discussing integration by parts or centripetal acceleration).  Mrs. Uhrinek's vibrant personality has rubbed off on most students she's had pass through her classes, especially myself.  I've learned from her to have faith in myself, to greet each challenge with a great attitude and to really try my best at the things I do.  She's one of the women in my life who I have the utmost respect for and I can't think of anyone else who deserves recognition for their everyday activities.     

Mrs. Uhrinek helped to ready me for college through her AP Physics and AP Calculus class and she deserves all the recognition is available.
-- Alyse Satura (Freshman, Architectural Engineering)

Mrs. Amy Reed
(Spanish)

Senora Reed is one of the many teachers that I grew close with during my two years at Newbury Park High School.  However, when asked which teacher I would want to nominate her name stood out the most to me.  Senora was the one teacher that I could come to with not only my academic problems, but also my personal problems.  Her advice was amazing and really pushed me to be a better person.  She was also the advisor to the club I was President in and her guidance was amazing.  I am the leader that I am today because of her.  Senora Amy Reed has shaped me through example and I am forever grateful to her because of this reason.

This is a great opportunity to really tell teachers that you appreciate them!  I was blessed to have Senora Amy Reed as my teacher!  :) I know she will be in my life forever.
-- Rachel Golombeck (Freshman, Chemical Engineering)

Mr. Roth
(Math)

Mr. Roth was one of the most significant influences in my life during junior high school, and someone I really looked up to and admired.  I had the pleasure of having Mr. Roth as a teacher for not one, but two years.  He taught my 8^th grade Algebra 2 class as well as my 9^th grade Geometry class.  Going into 8^th grade, I liked math a lot, but by the end of 9^th grade I knew without a doubt that this was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

Mr. Roth instilled in me an appreciation and love for the beauty of the equations, an elegant proof, the way such a messy problem can end up just being equal to one.  His excitement for math really rubbed off on me- excitement about exploring the different forms of infinity, or finding a new way to solve an equation, or helping someone else to find a new way to solve an equation and finally understand the big foggy mass that used to be math for them.  For a long time (and even now, despite all the engineering I've been studying these past four years) I wanted to become a math teacher, and be just like him.

Mr. Roth wrote and published his own newsletter called "The Square Root" with math trivia, puzzles, history, and biographies of famous mathematicians.  The things I learned in 8^th and 9^th grade have even carried through to my college math, physics, and engineering courses.  I'll never forget the equations for the difference of two squares, or the sum and difference of two cubes, or even the quadratic formula.

Mr. Roth's creativity, enthusiasm, and passion for teaching opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities.  I know I will always remember him and the invaluable instruction, knowledge, and excitement for life-long learning I obtained in his math classes.
-- Elizabeth Blickley (Senior, Engineering Science)

Barbara Barr
(Math)

Mrs. Barr was my calculus teacher for both my Junior and Senior years of high school.  She taught me both AP Calc I and II, without which my entire college experience would have been exponentially more challenging.  My strong calculus basics allowed me to concentrate on new material while many of my classmates struggled with the math, many dropping engineering in the process.  I am about to graduate with every option in the world available to me as a female engineer.  I would like to thank Mrs. Barr for giving me the strong fundamental skills and confidence that led me down this path.  

My high school was an all girls, private Catholic high school.  No one talked about engineering and very few of the girls went on to pursue it.  The AP Calculus program was very new when I went through it.  My class was only the second that Mrs. Barr had ever taught for AP Calc II.  Most of our lessons were brand new and she put loads of effort into making sure the entire class of 7 understood each and every concept.  I was always amazed by her patience.  
-- Sarah Hadley (Senior, Industrial Engineering)