I challenge my students to learn something every day so they are continually improving themselves.  Receiving the Presidential Award is confirmation that I am working towards the right goal.  I think it also signifies that I practice what I teach, i.e., that I continually try to learn and improve myself as a teacher.  I am humbled and grateful that my work has been recognized by my peers as being worthy of this award.

Andrew Kemp Louisville, KY | 7-12, Science, 2013

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

Andy Kemp has been a science educator for more than 30 years. In the past nine years, he has taught Chemistry 1 and Advanced Placement Chemistry at Louisville Male High School to 10th-12th graders. Prior to that, Andy taught science and education courses at the University of Louisville and the Kentucky Virtual High School, as well as Stockbridge High School and Shorter College in Georgia.  Andy loves to bring his experience as a scientist into the classroom so students will understand the concepts better, as well as think of science as a potential career. For eight years Andy was a director of the Kentucky Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, an annual competition for high school student researchers in math, science, and technology.  Andy has presented at numerous science and education conferences from the local to the international level. He has given professional development workshops for science teachers and has mentored dozens of student teachers and interns. He is a co-author of seven science education journal articles, as well as a middle school science textbook.  Andy has a B.S. in biology and chemistry from Shorter College, a M.S. in biology from Emory University, and a Ph.D. in science education from the University of Georgia. He is certified to teach high school chemistry, physics, biology, and earth/space sciences, as well as middle school science.

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