Judy Butcher

Computer Technology Teacher

Lubbock, TX

Judy Butcher is a computer technology teacher from Lubbock, Texas. Born and raised in Texas, her twenty-nine-year teaching career has been all in West Texas. Most recently, Judy taught at Smyer High School in Smyer, a small rural school outside of Lubbock. Before teaching in Smyer, Judy taught mathematics at Estacado High School in Lubbock for three years and mathematics and computer technology at the middle and high school levels in Abernathy for nineteen years. Judy received a B.S. in Multi-Disciplinary Studies and a B.B.A. in Accounting from McMurry University and a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Judy is a lifelong learner passionate about ensuring all students receive the best possible education, especially in STEM. Her inspiration has come from consistently researching, creating lessons to meet the needs of all students, and finding ways to be involved in memorable and innovative opportunities to add vital STEM knowledge to her intellectual toolbox of information. A few of the opportunities that significantly impacted Judy as an educator have been being a part of STEM days and camps like Video Game Design Camp, being chosen as a participant, and later a mentor in a cohort of Rural School STEM teachers for a Research Experience for Teachers on Applied Data Science for Cybersecurity and the South Plains Teacher and Counselor Externship Program. These experiences and others have allowed Judy to build a cohesive classroom environment and expand outside the classroom by providing STEM opportunities in which high school students teach STEM concepts to elementary students and sponsoring math and science competitions for middle and high school students. Judy’s dedication to education and her school community was validated during the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 as the Secondary Teacher of the Year.

Judy’s dedication to education demonstrates her commitment to providing a supportive learning environment for all students. Judy sees the need to align, expand, and promote the local, state, and national STEM resources available to meet the needs of diverse student populations. This commitment includes ensuring that students in small rural schools have access to the same resources as larger schools. Judy plans to continue to empower, inspire, and engage all students to become lifelong learners beyond the classroom walls into today’s multi-faceted world.

Pamela Joslyn

U.S. Department of Defense
Muscatine, IA

Pamela Joslyn, with 30 years of science teaching experience, taught 8th grade science and high school biology at Susan Clark Junior High in Muscatine, Iowa. Pamela has taught physics, AP Physics, chemistry, earth science, physical science, biology, and middle school. She has taught at Muscatine High School, Stillwater Junior High in Stillwater, Minnesota, and Northeast Middle School in Minneapolis. She received her B.S. in Genetics from Iowa State University and a M.S. in Science Education from Montana State University. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate through Drake University. Selected as a recipient of the Catherine Miller Explorer Award from the Stanley Center for Peace and Security, Pamela toured Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, and she provided outreach opportunities to her local community connecting cultures, wildlife, and geology. Pamela has developed various engineering activities including a security system (with lasers and photoreceptors), cardboard boat regattas, design of cell phone cases, and car crash tests. As a 2019 Fulbright Distinguished Teacher Award recipient, Pamela researched how the design process in science and engineering practices and problem-based learning is taught in STEM and/or science classrooms in the Helsinki, Finland area through a collaboration with the University of Helsinki. Pamela piloted a community-school partnership to reduce organic waste partnering with the City of Muscatine and received the A Celia B. Godsil Grant in Place Fellowship to purchase bins for the students and school to collect organic waste. She presented the project locally, regionally, and nationally. Samsung Solve for Tomorrow awarded technology to produce videos for the student project. Through a U.S. State Department Alumni Thematic International Exchange, Pamela received a grant to coordinate with the University of Iowa STEM Innovator program to teach communication and ignite a passion for sustainable development goals in the Muscatine community. Through community partnerships, Pamela aimed to empower students, educators, and community members to provide a system-thinking approach to problem solving. During her lived experiences, Pamela continued to develop her worldview and construct more connections to the natural world. To provide a global perspective as a science educator, Pamela created the acronym: ORBIT (observe, relate, broaden, impact, think again). She constantly asks her students to make Observations and Relate what they have learned and apply it to their immediate world. She asks students to Broaden their world view to another part of the world or through a different cultural perspective. Pamela believes students can make an Impact in their community or even globally. Finally, Pamela asks students to reevaluate or Think again about their original ideas and mindfully consider the development of their transformed ideas. Pamela, passionate about education, continues to increase her capacity to build a collaborative culture and foster meaningful learning experiences.