PAEMST is the capstone validation of my career-long goal to bring the love, understanding, and appreciation for science into the lives of my students and colleagues. Beyond PAEMST, my fervent hope is that a spark that may have been kindled through my teaching will be manifested at some point in the future as some wonderful scientific breakthrough derived by one of my students. But, after all, isn’t that why all of us teach?

Marilyn Hawks APO, AP | K-6, Science, 2012

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

An educator for more than 36 years, Marilyn Hawks has spent 28 of those years educating the sons and daughters of our Nation’s service members in the Philippines, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, and the Netherlands. With experience across the spectrum of kindergarten through sixth grade, Marilyn works within the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) to inspire a love of science, through experience, not only to her students but also to her colleagues at Bechtel Elementary School on Okinawa, Japan, where she has been teaching third grade for the last 8 years.    In everything she does, whether serving as the cochair of her school’s STEM Week activities, taking charge of Hand-On Science Nights, or serving as a science mentor for the entire staff, Marilyn finds ways to instill a lifelong love of the physical principles that guide our world. Without a doubt, Marilyn loves the palpable change that takes over her class when her students don their lab coats, transform themselves into junior scientists, master a scientific concept, and then travel in teams to upper- and lower-level grades to teach what they have learned to other students.  Marilyn has a B.A. in social science and an M.Ed. from Central Washington University. She is certified in elementary education by the State of Washington and DoDEA.

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