As a child of Cuban immigrants who came to the US with only their children and their education, I was constantly reminded of the value of a good education. This award symbolizes what we all can achieve when given the opportunity to learn from dedicated teachers. It validates my work as an educator and the role I play in helping young people build better futures for themselves. It inspires me to strive for excellence in the classroom and to share my knowledge and experience with other teachers.
Maria Hernandez has taught mathematics to high school and college students for more than 20 years. For the past 14 years, she has taught at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. This year, she taught Precalculus, Advanced Placement Calculus, and Multivariable Calculus to 11th and 12th graders.
Maria actively engages her students by using hands-on activities and technology to help them make connections between important ideas in mathematics. She also gives them opportunities to apply their mathematics knowledge to real-world problems using projects and open-ended problems.
Maria is dedicated to sharing teaching strategies and rich problems with colleagues. She has presented sessions at regional, state, and national meetings of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and has taught numerous weeklong workshops for high school mathematics teachers.
As a longtime mentor in a mathematics mentoring program for middle school girls in her community, Maria encourages girls to choose challenging mathematics and science courses in school and to consider pursuing careers in those fields.
Maria has a B.S. in Mathematics from North Carolina State University and an M.S. in Mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is National Board Certified in Secondary Mathematics.
- High-resolution version of the official portrait photograph
- Awardee holding Presidential citation between the Director of the National Science Foundation, Dr. Subra Suresh and the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Dr. John P. Holdren
- High-resolution version of the teacher profile photograph
