UIC Doctoral Student and Chicago Chemistry Teacher Nina Hike Receives Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching

Nina Hike

University of Illinois Chicago College of Education doctoral student Nina Hike has been awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. The award, announced by President Biden on Jan. 13, 2025, is the nation’s highest honor from the U.S. government for science and math teachers and honors the vital role America’s teachers and mentors play in shaping the next generation of leaders in science fields, including scientists, engineers, explorers and innovators, the White House said.

Hike was one of more than 300 teachers nationally who were selected to receive the award. Since Congress established the award in 1995, teachers from all 50 U.S. states and U.S. territories have received it. Awardees “demonstrate deep content knowledge and an ability to adapt to a broad range of learners and teaching environments,” the White House said in announcing the awards. “Teachers are selected based on their distinction in the classroom and dedication to improving STEM education.”

“I am always trying to do high-caliber assignments with my students and find things that I don’t know the answers to,” said Hike, a chemistry teacher at George Westinghouse College Prep in Chicago and a doctoral candidate in the Mathematics and Science Education PhD program. “I am always learning with the students.”

Hike brings exceptional teaching into her classroom with creative units and lessons that relate to students’ lives. One unit in her classes focuses on air, water and soil pollution in Chicago, and it also teaches students about environmental justice. For another unit, she partnered with DePaul University and NASA to teach students about high-altitude ballooning. She also teaches a unit about Dr. Charles R. Drew’s contributions to blood banking, which inspired her to initiate a school and Chicago Teachers Union blood drive to raise awareness about sickle cell disease treatments.

Hike was nominated by UIC College of Education Curriculum and Instruction Department Chair Maria Varelas.

“Nina Hike’s footprint in Chicagoland and beyond is so marvelously extensive, valuable and significant,” Varelas said. “Chicago has been fortunate to have had a science teacher like Nina Hike with such consequential impact on so many lives for so many years.”

Hike completed a rigorous application process for the Presidential Award. She submitted a videotaped chemistry lesson and narrative showing her science teaching practices and knowledge, instructional strategies, assessments, lesson delivery and reflection. The application process also required evidence of student success in external assessments and Hike’s success in designing and implementing professional developments from her teaching career at Marie Curie High School and George Westinghouse College Prep.

Hike earned her undergraduate degree in biology and chemistry from the University of Illinois Chicago, where she credits Professor Donald Wink for his early and ongoing support of her work in chemistry education.