The Air & Space Forces Association is proud to announce Nancy Parra-Quinlan of Kino Junior High School in Mesa, Ariz., as our 2022 Teacher of the Year (TOY). She was originally nominated for the award by AFA’s AZ-151 Frank Luke Chapter.
AFA’s Teacher of the Year award is an annual recognition of exceptional teachers who are invigorating their students’ passion and promoting innovative STEM education. The award is sponsored by Rolls-Royce North America Defense.
“Our Teacher of the Year program not only serves to recognize the education talent we have in the U.S., but also to acknowledge the importance of educators in our society,” said Stephen Gourley, AFA Vice Chairman of the Board for Aerospace Education. “’Mrs P-Q’ rightfully joins a long list of exceptional teachers. We are proud know her and provide this well-deserved recognition.”
Parra-Quinlan is a 7th and 8th grade science, STEM, and Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher at Kino Junior High, a Title I school in an economically disadvantaged area of Mesa. Since offering the school’s first STEM class in 2011, she has grown the program to include elective courses on robotic programming, 3D modeling and design, DNA comparison, and aeronautic engineering. Parra-Quinlan is also the sponsor of Kino Junior High’s STEM club and has arranged for the club’s members to visit the U.S. Space and Rocket Center Space Academy in Huntsville, Ala., and Astro Camp in Idyllwild, Calif., during the summer.
Outside of class time, Parra-Quinlan coaches the “RoboKolts,” Kino Junior High’s after-school robotics team in the FIRST LEGO League. She also plans, markets, and runs the Aerospace Academy, a two-week summer camp that gives students from around the Phoenix metropolitan area exposure to STEM careers through tours and guest speakers. Her campers have visited Boeing’s AH-64 Apache helicopter factory and a Southwest Airlines maintenance hangar, and they have met air traffic controllers and other Federal Aviation Administration staff at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
Parra-Quinlan is also a captain in the Civil Air Patrol and an Aerospace Education Officer. In these roles she helps cadets pursue their aerospace career goals and supplies local teachers with resources to cultivate thriving STEM programs at their schools.
“Congratulations to Nancy for this well-deserved recognition as AFA’s National Teacher of the Year!” said Lt. Gen. Darryl Roberson (Ret.), Senior Vice President of Business Development at Rolls-Royce North America Defense. “[We are] proud to support Nancy and the Air & Space Forces Association as we all work together to develop and support today’s STEM students—the science and technology specialists of tomorrow.”
AFA also congratulates Robbie Ferguson, the 2022 TOY award first runner-up. Ferguson, who was nominated by AFA’s CO #127 Mile High Chapter, teaches aerospace engineering and computer science to 9th-12th grade students at Westminister High School in Westminister, Colo. He has partnered with organizations like NASA and the Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology to provide his students with the opportunity to earn college credits and industry certifications that will set them up early for future careers in STEM.
The second runner-up winner of 2022’s TOY award is Dr. Marina Mosneaguta, who was nominated by AFA’s SC Swamp Fox Chapter 298. A math teacher and the STEM lead at Alice Drive Middle School in Sumter, S.C., Mosneaguta gives her students hands-on experience conducting scientific research through the Students Spaceflight Experiments Program. She also organizes virtual meetings between her students and STEM professionals, including aerospace engineers, astronauts, and even Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David D. Thompson.
AFA proudly honors all of these teachers whose commitments, achievements, and contributions to STEM education are shaping America’s youth and future.
