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Kirstin B.

Kirstin has taught science, engineering, and computer science for the past nineteen years. Prior to teaching, she was a health specialist volunteer in the Peace Corps, Togo, where she discovered her passion for education. Kirstin is an alumna of Teachers for Global Classrooms (Senegal), the Transatlantic Outreach Program (Germany), and the Japan-US Teacher Exchange for Education for Sustainable Development. Participation in each of these programs led her to discover that students show greater aptitude and interest in engineering when presented from a relevant global context. Kirstin is currently the Next Energy Engineering Instructor at the Richland Two Institute of Innovation (R2i2) in Columbia, SC, where her students design and optimize alternative energy solutions for local and global challenges. Currently, her Next Energy students are collaborating with three communities in Senegal and South Africa to optimize solar energy. Kirstin is the recipient of the South Carolina Outstanding Biology Teacher Award (2013), was named a finalist for the 2020 South Carolina STEM Educator of the Year and holds National Board Certification. Her hobbies include travel, cooking, and spending time with her two children and their menagerie of animals.

Awards Received

  • 2021 South Carolina AffiliateEducator Award Winner
  • 2022 South Carolina AffiliateEducator Award Honorable Mention
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