STEM SUPERVISOR NADIA MAKAR EARNS PRESTIGIOUS NATIONAL AWARD
Supervisor of STEM Education Nadia Makar has received the prestigious American Chemical Society’s 2022 Stanley C. Israel Award for advancing diversity in the chemical sciences and stimulating and fostering activities that promote inclusiveness for economically disadvantaged students.
The innovator behind the school district’s highly regarded STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) program, Ms. Makar has inspired hundreds of students to major in the sciences. Along the way, she has helped these students attend some of the nation’s finest universities, in many cases also helping them earn substantial scholarships.
Her students have also won almost every major national scholarship, and hundreds of them have participated in summer research programs at top universities. Several of her students have won Gates Foundation scholarships, another discovered a new planet and is now attending Cal Tech, one of the nation’s top technology schools. Recently, one of her students won a $250,000 scholarship at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) and is now completing his chemical engineering degree at Yale University.
Ms. Makar has earned many awards, including Best Science Teacher in North America and Hudson County Teacher of the Year, and is the only teacher from Hudson County to win the presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching, among many other awards. She was honored at the White House by former President George H. W. Bush, as well as by Senator Robert Menendez and former governors Thomas Kean and Jon Corzine.
She is a graduate (Summa Cum Laude) of St. Peter’s University, where she also earned a Master’s degree and is a member of the Board of Regents.
“On behalf of the entire school district, congratulations to my longtime friend and colleague, Nadia Makar,” says Superintendent of Schools Silvia Abbato. “I have had the pleasure of working closely with Nadia for many years and the innovations she has brought to our school district cannot even be measured. She has made a major difference in the lives of thousands of our students.”
Ms. Makar will receive her award at the Chemical Society’s regional meeting later this year.
“Working with economically disadvantaged has been a blessing. It has given a beautiful meaning to my life.” says Ms. Makar. “You are all part of this award.”