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Joseph Hawes, a elementary school STEM teacher for Rockbridge County, was honored with the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association’s 40 under 40 award at this month’s School Board meeting.
This award is given annually for “Significant contributions to the technical science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields by providing innovation, thought leadership, and support to their clients or organizations using information technology,” according to AFCEA’s website.
Other honorees include military members and STEM professionals.
Hawes has been teaching STEM in Rockbridge County for the past five years, working with Central, Natural Bridge, and Mountain View Elementary schools.
This award was largely in recognition of the “hack-athon” Hawes help organize last year.
“Last summer we found out we were going to be partnering with [AFCEA] to create a new program for the fifth grade students at our local elementary schools - a hack-a-thon,” he explained.
“This was basically a program where we use coding to work with micro-controllers called micro bits, to create ways of solving different problems that a hypothetical space mission might experience.”
Hawes worked alongside other teachers, including Paige Owens and Susan Mahood, for months to realize this program.
“This was a many monthlong process where we actually taught the kids how to do the coding, how to build different things that could interact with the micro bits.”
“Then we had a twoday hack-a-thon where we had people from Northern Virginia and other places come in and interact with the students, present them with challenges, and they had to come up with their solutions, working with their teammates,” said Hawes. “We had a lot of kids who loved it.”
This is a program he wants to see continue into the coming school year.
“I would love to do another hack-a-thon this year. We are in talks with the local AFCEA chapter about pulling that off again.”
Hawes is looking forward to all the challenges the upcoming year will have to offer.
“There’s so many STEM challenges I’m going to give the kids this year that I’m really excited about doing. I have a wonderful job, and when everything works out, it’s just the best.”
