Congratulations to Bryan Hernandez Rubero, Wichita South High School Biology Teacher, who received a $1000 check as the statewide winner of the 2022 Wendell G. Mohling Foundation Scholarship Award on November 10 th. The award was presented by scholarship founder Carol Mohling, Kay Neill, chair of the foundation, and Marlin Weyer, foundation board treasurer.
The $1000 award is given annually to a Kansas science teacher to be used to increase his/her professional development by attending a national or regional National Science Teachers Association Conference on Science Education. Mr. Hernandez completed an application essay to vie for the award, and has chosen to attend the NSTA National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 22-25, 2023. The last sentence in his essay explains: “If more opportunities existed, like the one provided by the Wendell G. Mohling Foundation Scholarship, to help educators be exposed to a wider net of pedagogy information, outside of their immediate school districts, by attending national science conferences, then the entire education system would only benefit.”
This award also pays for his membership for one year to the Kansas Association of Teachers of Science (KATS). This membership will also provide him with numerous statewide opportunities for professional development.
The scholarship foundation was started by Carol Mohling in honor of her husband, Wendell G. Mohling, after his death eighteen years ago. Dr. Mohling was a former Kansas Association of Teachers of Science President and NSTA President, and was well known for his environmental education classes and outdoor lab that he designed as a teacher at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School. Dr. Mohling’s vision was for Kansas science teachers to experience the excitement of attending a national or regional science conference. The website explains that vision and provides a list of award winners since 2006.
kansas association of teachers of science