For 26 years, the Loeb Prize has honored outstanding science and math educators in the St. Louis area who demonstrate a passion to inspire learning.
Susan Zareh from Forsyth School was awarded the Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Prize for Excellence in Teaching Science and Mathematics at an event celebrating the finalists at the Omnimax® Theater on May 20th.
This year’s event also honored Devon Lahr from Mehlville High School as the second place honoree. Other finalists included Jennifer Adams from Clayton High School, Laura Schowalter from Nipher Middle School and Elizabeth Walsh-Rock from STEAM Academy at McCluer South-Berkeley. All finalists received cash awards.
“This year’s nominated teachers are an extraordinary group of highly qualified and dedicated educators. They are masters of their subjects, technologically savvy, innovative in their classrooms and consummate professionals. It is most rewarding to be able to recognize these outstanding teachers of tomorrow’s STEM leaders,” said Carol Loeb, a math teacher for 53 years, who along with her husband, the late Jerome T. Loeb, established the Loeb Prize in 1995 in partnership with the Saint Louis Science Center. Carol Loeb also serves on the Saint Louis Science Center’s Board of Trustees.
“We are proud of the longstanding partnership with the Loeb Family in recognizing and rewarding outstanding teachers dedicated to STEM education,” said Todd Bastean, president and CEO of the Saint Louis Science Center. “The Loeb Prize is one of the many ways we honor educators who share the mission of the Saint Louis Science Center: to ignite and sustain a lifelong interest in science and technology.”
YES Teens Take Flight Thanks to Boeing Grant
This spring and summer, the Youth Exploring Science (YES) Program is excited to welcome professional instructors to work with teens in their Aerospace component, allowing teens the ability to learn more about flying planes and opening them up to more career possibilities.
Thanks to a generous grant from Boeing, three flight instructors as well as a drone instructor will be available to work with the teens each week. The flight instructors guide teens through online ground school and flight simulators, while the drone instructor teaches drone regulations and flying techniques.
Flight instructor David Brickhaus says, “My interest in the YES aviation program comes from my personal childhood experiences. I have, all my life, been interested in aviation and aerospace. Growing up, I did not know how or have access to resources exposing me to that field. It was not until I had graduated college that I was able to become part of what is truly an amazing activity/career opportunity. I want to help individuals who have an interest in aviation get flight experience and learn earlier in their lives how to engage with the field, whether just out of curiosity or if there are larger career aspirations.”
Evernorth Sponsors Esports at the Saint Louis Science Center
The Saint Louis Science Center is proud to announce that Evernorth, a division of the Cigna Corporation, is a Founding Sponsor of our esports program. This innovative program is dedicated to providing an inclusive environment for gameplay and a place to learn about the educational and career opportunities found in the competitive video gaming industry.
Support from Evernorth, a health services company that includes St. Louis-based Express Scripts, will enable the esports program to purchase top-of-the-line technology, including gaming rigs and monitors for console play, as well as shoutcasting equipment that will support broad event participation and inclusive access to everyone in our community interested in gaming and esports. The program hosts FREE open video gameplay sessions and competitions four to five times a month, and each event is outfitted with gaming PCs and consoles for the participants to use. To ensure the program reaches students who may not have access to gaming consoles at home or at school, the program is also being promoted through our Youth Exploring Science (YES) Community Partner network and St. Louis school districts that serve underserved areas.
“At Evernorth, we believe it is critically important to support innovative technology education in our communities, so we have the best and brightest minds helping us solve healthcare’s biggest challenges,” said Glen Stettin, MD, Chief Innovation Officer, Evernorth. “Esports is designed to spark imagination and knowledge in a new generation of STEM professionals, and we believe that will strengthen the growing technology entrepreneurship and innovation talent that we see here in St. Louis.”
The Science Center takes a unique approach to producing the esports events by integrating teens from our signature YES program. For over 20 years, YES has helped prepare high school students from underserved areas in our community to become STEM learners and the next generation of STEM professionals. YES Teens from the Cyber Security and Media components are able to gain valuable real-world experience and workforce skills for the future by helping to facilitate the esports program. At the events, YES teens in the Cyber Security component demonstrate how to build and upgrade a computer and also provide tech support. Teens in the Media component conduct interviews, operate cameras, help with sound and broadcast engineering and even provide commentary.
“We are very appreciative of the Evernorth sponsorship that will advance our vision of being the hub for esports in the region accessible to all gamers and provide valuable workforce development opportunities for our YES teens,” says Mike Harris, manager of cyber security education for the YES program.
Esports program participants are exposed to path to a profession, where they receive both expert coaching for gaming skills, along with unparalleled education about future career opportunities. The program is also designed to boost critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, and technology fluency—all vital skills that will help esports gamers find their place in the 21st century STEM-based workforce from computer science and game design to engineering
and healthcare.
UPCOMING ESPORTS INITIATIVES
Throughout the summer, we will be hosting a variety of different esports activities. Join us for one, or all, of the following:
- Open Play Sessions in Boeing Hall
- Esports Summer Camp with University of Health Science and Pharmacy
- Esports Competitions
For the most up-to-date information and dates and times of activities, please visit slsc.org/esports.
Founding Sponsor
Official Sponsor
