Long Beach State University Student Recognized by National Organization for Outstanding Work Teaching Sciences

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Aug. 13, 2018) – A Long Beach State University student working toward a teaching degree is the 2018 recipient of the Future Science Teacher Award from the California Science Teachers Association.

Erik Perez, a current student earning a multiple subject credential and special education credential, received the recognition after being nominated by his professor Laura Henriques, who is the chairwoman of the university’s Science Education Department.

"I was completely blindsided and just absolutely honored," Perez said of his winning the award. "It really validated all the hard work I've been doing in my science education. It's so honoring and I couldn't be any more over the moon."

During the summer of 2017, Perez worked at the campus' Young Scientists Camp, teaching middle school students during a two-week STEM Makers Challenge in which students learned about electricity and magnetism.

In preparation for the camp, Perez spent hours of his own time creating prototypes of motorized bubble blowers, troubleshooting motor speeds and working out synchronization issues to create the perfect machine that students could recreate at the camp.

Perez was initially drawn toward education because of a desire to reach students who are on the margins and make subject material more accessible to students.

"One of the main reasons I was pushed toward education was my own educational experience," Perez said. "It was almost a loop I was caught in. I was put in remedial courses because of testing anxiety. I was forced to believe as I went through elementary, middle and high school that I wasn't a good student. When I went to college I met a teacher who really inspired me."

Perez will graduate from Long Beach State University in May 2019.

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About the campus: Long Beach State University is a teaching-intensive, research-driven university committed to providing highly valued undergraduate and graduate degrees critical for success in the globally minded 21st century. Annually ranked among the best universities in the West and among the best values in the entire nation, the university’s eight colleges serve more than 37,500 students. The campus values and is recognized for rich educational opportunities provided by excellent faculty and staff, exceptional degree programs, diversity of its student body, fiduciary and administrative responsibility and the positive contributions faculty, staff, students and more than 300,000 alumni make on society.