It is an extreme honor to receive the prestigious Presidential Award. I am grateful to those who have inspired me to pursue my passion for bringing creativity to the classroom. Receiving this award refuels my drive to instill the joy of learning within my students so they realize the impact they have on the local and global community, and continue their pursuit of knowledge. With this award comes the responsibility to share my experience with other educators so that they, too, may be inspired.

Elizabeth Guzzetta Rochester, NY | 7-12, Science, 2017

The official biography below was current at the time of the award.

Elizabeth “Beth” Guzzetta has been an educator for over 25 years, spending the last 19 years teaching at Allendale Columbia School. She currently teaches seventh-grade Life Science and sixth and eighth-grade mathematics. She also taught at DeSales High School in Geneva, NY and schools in Massachusetts and Florida. Beth’s love for science helps her develop innovative projects on campus. She runs a maple sugaring project, a honeybee apiary, and a trout project. After school and in the summer, she runs science camps to excite and engage younger scientists. Global connections and scientific research are areas that she enjoys sharing with her students through domestic and international trips. These experiences have brought her and her students to Madagascar for biodiversity and archaeology research, the Florida Keys for marine biology research, and Camp Pathfinder in Canada and the Adirondack Mountains for outdoor education. Beth’s leadership among educators has led her to conduct annual presentations at the National Science Teachers Association National Conference since 2012 and presentations at the Science Teachers Association of NY. She is also a National Geographic Certified Educator. Beth has a B.A. in mathematics from St. John Fisher College and a M.Ed. from Curry College. She is certified in secondary mathematics and elementary education.

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