I am T. C. Ballard, an African-American, an honors graduate of thee Morgan State University, a graduate school student majoring in STEM Leadership at thee University of Maryland, a daughter of two University of Maryland graduates, a 16 year teacher, an entrepreneur, owner of Totally STEM and an avid STEM education advocate. STEM will be the language of the future and it's our responsibility as educators to make certain our students can speak it! An effective and proven way to ensure students retain a concept and remain actively engaged in the learning process is to make the lessons being taught fun, meaningful, and relevant to each learner specifically; STEM education allows educators like me to do this on a daily basis.

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I am currently a middle school science teacher where I get to educate others on my one of my first loves, Science!! While teaching over the past 15 years,  I have become that teacher that I always wanted! I make lessons educational, informational and “fun-formational”. Meaning I understand what my students need to know and I know how to plan fun lessons and activities that convey the necessary information. I frequently integrate the lessons I develop, sometimes combining math with social studies, reading with social studies, math with reading etc. I take every opportunity I have, however, to find an excuse to incorporate a science lab into a lesson from any subject. Why?...simply because I believe science makes learning so much more fun, and I’ve seen it in action!

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I believe our world is in good hands if we dedicate ourselves to teacher education, STEM awareness and application, and the academic success of each of our students!