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Joy Hatfield-Couch, Claremore High School
 Joy Hatfield-Couch, or “Mrs. H-C” as students like to call her, was nominated for the passion with which she teaches chemical sciences. “She is a very dynamic teacher and believes in the importance of chemistry knowledge in everyday life,” wrote co-nominator Lauren Woods, a chemical engineering graduate student. “She inspired a passion in me for chemical sciences simply by being passionate about it herself.”
Co-nominator Alex Lopez, who graduated with a BSChE this spring, added, “The lessons that Mrs. H-C taught will help me continue to succeed throughout my future career.”
Hatfield-Couch graduated with a B.S. Ed. in chemistry from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla., in 1993 and will receive her M.S. Ed. in educational administration in 2011 from Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford. She has been teaching at Claremore High School for 14 years and has been the chair of the science department since 2003. Hatfield-Couch teaches physical science, chemistry I, Pre-AP chemistry and, her favorite, AP chemistry. She enjoys traveling with her husband and two sons during the summer months.
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George Spencer, Fayetteville High School
George Spencer was nominated for his ability to inspire his students to learn about the world around them and to always keep an open mind. “At an age where priorities are video games and lunch plans, Mr. Spencer introduced and kept us interested in ideas like the spins of electrons and the art of manipulating matter,” his nominator, chemical engineering junior Turner Tomlinson, stated. “Chemistry, for him, was never a class; it was a lifestyle.”
Spencer has taught in the Fayetteville school system for 25 years, 24 of those at Fayetteville High School. He has taught AP chemistry at Fayetteville High School since 1997. Spencer graduated from Hendrix College in 1975 and the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1978. In 1984 he returned to the University of Arkansas to complete course work in chemistry and education.
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Don Highfill, Ozark High School
 Don Highfill was nominated for his versatility in teaching the sciences and for inspiring his students to learn and solve problems. “He is the ideal teacher for a student who wants to be an engineer, because he stresses the problem solving process the way that so few high school teachers do anymore,” wrote his nominator Howard Heffington, Jr., who graduated with Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering this spring. “He has the ability to teach the brightest, and the patience to teach students that struggle.”
Highfill graduated with a Bachelor of Science in biology from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville in 1978 and began teaching middle school math at Ozark Public Schools that same year. In 1979, he moved to Ozark High School, where he has spent the last 32 years teaching anatomy, physics in context, honors physics, biology, earth science and physical science. Highfill currently teaches anatomy, physics in context and honors physics.
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Brian Arenson, Bishop Kelley High School
 Brian Arenson has been changing lives at Bishop Kelley High School for more than 15 years, according to Anne Ziegler, who nominated him for the award. Arenson is the Science Department Chair at Bishop Kelley High School in Tulsa, Okla., where he has been teaching for 27 years. Arenson was nominated for his ability to help students succeed by giving them the tools they need to advance their academic careers.
Upon entering his AP Chemistry class, Ziegler was thrown into one of the most difficult classes of her high school career--and fell in love with the subject. "No other class prepared me for the work of college classes more than his did," Ziegler said. "He always pushed us to do our best work; his tests were challenging and required you to learn the material, not just memorize it...To this day, I understand the basics of chemistry thanks to Mr. Arenson, and I try to not only learn the material in all of my classes, but to retain it as well for future use."
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Danny Fuller, formerly of Parkview Arts & Science Magnet School
 Danny Fuller was nominated by Alexander Kreps for his devotion to teaching and chemistry, a devotion that influenced Kreps to become a chemical engineer. While at Parkview, Fuller oversaw the science department and advised students on their senior projects. Although retired, Fuller currently works as the lab manager for the Department of Chemistry at Hendrix College. Fuller also received this award in 2006.
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Melissa Donham, Central High School
 Melissa Donham began teaching at Central High School in 1997 after briefly teaching in Tennessee. In 1998, Donham earned a Master of Science in Secondary Education from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 1998. She currently serves as Central High School's Science Department Chair, teaches Pre-AP Biology I and regularly tutors students.
Hannah Lintag nominated Donham for the Distinguished High School Mentor Award to show her gratitude--and indebtedness--toward Donham. "Whatever uncertainty I have in my pursuits today, it disappears when I reflect on what I was able to do with her guidance and confidence in me," Lintag said. "Truly, I owe my steadfastness in my achievements to Melissa Donham--a person most deserving of any and every distinction for being an essential part in my success."
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Sandra Dunlap, formerly of Wonderview High School
After completing her masters degree, Sandy Dunlap began teaching at Wonderview High School in Hattieville, Ark., where she felt students would benefit most from her knowledge. Throughout the years Dunlap's former students praised her for encouraging them to learn and for fighting to improve academics at the school, including teaching calculus to students during her prep hour--at no additional pay--to provide students the additional challenge when the school's budget could not pay for the course.
Ashley Smith and two other students, Nikki Hampton and Whitney Hensley, nominated Dunlap for the Distinguished High School Mentor Award in gratitude for inspiring others to follow their dreams. "One of my last wishes before I graduate is to recognize one person who has inspired me in so many ways to continue in my growth as a person and to achieve higher expectations for myself," Smith said.
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Roberta Watts, Lake Hamilton High School
 Roberta Watts began teaching at Lake Hamilton High School after graduating from the University of Arkansas with both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Natural Sciences. Watts has taught AP Chemistry since 1990, when the school first offered the course, and now serves as the Lead AP Science teacher. Watts has received several awards for her excellence in teaching, including the American Chemical Society's award for Outstanding Central Arkansas High School Chemistry Teacher four times.
Natalie Thibodeaux nominated Watts for the Distinguished High School Mentor Award because of her perseverance and ability to push students to do their best, and because Watts' ability to challenge her thinking inspired her to pursue a degree in chemical engineering.
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Betty J. Busby, Pocahontas High School
 Betty Busby has been teaching science for more than 35 years. She teaches a variety of science and math classes including physical science, biology and anatomy and physiology. Busby received a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master's degree in Biology from Arkansas State University.
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 Msgr. Lawrence A. Frederick, Catholic High School
Msgr. Frederick has been a high school teacher for more than 40 years and says that he is still learning how to teach. Msgr. Frederick received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from St. Louis University, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, Graduate Studies in Theology from St. John's Seminary and a Master of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Arkansas.
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Roger Sides, Neosho High School
 Roger Sides has been teaching high school chemistry for more than 33 years, the last 25 of which were in Neosho, Mo. Sides received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry prior to earning a Master's degree in Science Education from Kansas State University.
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Brad Cast, Union High School
Brad Cast graduated from the University of New Mexico in 1985. He has been teaching for more than 21 years and has been teaching AP Chemistry for the past six years. He has twice received a nomination for the Siemens Top Advanced Placement Teacher award.
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Kristin Jackson, Harrisonville High School
 Kristin Jackson graduated from (Southwest) Missouri State University in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science in Education in Biology and Chemistry. She has been teaching Chemistry I and II for 11 years and AP Chemistry for the last five years. She is the 2007-2008 Harrisonville School District Educator of the Year and a finalist for the Missouri State Teacher of the year (2007-2008).
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 Robert Mayes, Searcy High School
Robert Mayes began teaching at Searcy High School in 1990 after graduating Magna Cum Laude from Harding University with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, with minors in Physics and Chemistry. Mayes has taught Physics at Harding University in the summer as an adjunct professor since 1999, in addition to teaching Physics, Calculus and Pre-Calculus at Searcy High School.
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 George Remenar, Eureka Springs High School
George Remenar has the reputation of being the toughest teacher at his small high school, but at the same time he pushes his students to do their best. His nominator says, "For the many hours that I was in his [classes], it really did not seem like a 'classroom,' but rather an environment that stimulated me to think." He added, "Mr. Remenar was the teacher that made me see that limitless things could be reached if I strived to meet my goals." Outside of school, Mr. Remenar spends time reading, working on and riding Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and spending time with his family.
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Sherry Suit, Ozark High School
Sherry Suit shares her passion for learning with her students and encourages them to be their best. At a time when students get overwhelmed or bored with mathematics and the sciences, her nominator believes that "…more teachers like Mrs. Suit are needed who are passionate about what they do and who make learning fun and interesting." Suit also leads her students to work for more than just a good grade; they work for knowledge.
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Gary Ford, Southside High School
Gary Ford was nominated because of the passion with which he teaches biology. "I remember more about the things I learned in his class than any other subject in high school," read one nomination. Not only was his teaching style entertaining, but reportedly, everyone in the nominating student's class received high marks on the advanced placement exam.
Ford graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in zoology from the University of Arkansas in 1978, and received his Masters in Education from Southern University in Louisiana. He enjoys gardening and oversees the nature habitat at the school. Ford has taught for 25 years, 15 at Southside High School.
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Jim Townley, Southside High School
Jim Townley, already a Distinguished Mentor recipient in 2002, had inspired many students to pursue an education in chemistry by making it fun and interesting. One student stated, "His method of teaching made us easily understand the complicated subject, and in the end we all succeeded."
Townley attained his BSE from Arkansas State Teacher's College and his MS from the University of Oklahoma, and spent 14 years overseas working for the federal government. He has coached baseball for the past 26 years. Townley currently has one son in medical school and another son at the University of Arkansas.
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Leslie Brodie, Van Buren High School
At the spring banquet, Leslie Brodie received the Distinguished High School Mentor Award from chemical engineering students Christopher Cox, Natalie Harris and Sakura Phansiri. The students nominated their former teacher for the award, which is sponsored by the department.
In their nomination essay, the students wrote that Brodie, their advanced placement chemistry teacher and robotics coach, was a respected teacher and friend, listening to problems and showing a genuine interest in the lives of her students. She was instrumental in encouraging her students to pursue a career in the sciences, particularly chemical engineering.
"Any time we needed her, she was there," the group wrote in the essay. "Without Mrs. Brodie, we would not be in the chemical engineering program."
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 Mike Dykes, DeQueen High School
Summer Scott, a chemical engineering student at the College of Engineering at the University of Arkansas, says one former teacher holds a special place in the hearts of all students at DeQueen High School. So she nominated Mike Dykes, a chemistry, physics and physical science teacher at DeQueen, for the Distinguished High School Mentor Award, sponsored by the UA chemical engineering department.
Scott wrote in her essay that Dykes is the kind of teacher that every student hopes to have, often the first teacher to arrive and the last to leave. "Not only was he concerned with our performance and comprehension of ideas discussed in his class, he would ask about the things we were learning in other classes so that he could apply what we were learning to those topics," she wrote. "He went out of his way to teach concepts in a way that could be understood by all and he would make sure that he was available outside of class to offer his assistance if someone didn't quite understand."
But Dykes' classes weren't all work and no play, according to Scott's essay. "Sure, his classes were the hardest in school, but you couldn't help but laugh at his unorthodox teaching methods and the large cloud of chalk dust that surrounded him at all times. When students go back to visit, it's no coincidence that the first room they stop by is Mr. Dyke's."
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James Njengere, Arkansas School for Mathematics and Sciences
James Njengere, chemistry, botany and advanced placement environmental science teacher at Arkansas School for Mathematics and Sciences, received the Distinguished High School Mentor Award from chemical engineering students Crystal Hall and Ron Cardwell at the department's spring banquet. The students nominated their former teacher for the award, which is sponsored by the UA chemical engineering department.
The students wrote in their nomination essay that Njengere, a native of Nigeria, taught with great passion and a deep concern for the intellectual development and well-being of his students. "He taught us that any obstacle can be overcome and that any goal is within reach. We attribute much of our interest in science and engineering to this brilliant and compassionate man." Njengere is also involved with student activities and organizations outside the classroom, including the Honor Society, Beta Club and the annual EnviroThon national competition. Njengere spent several years separated from his wife and children while studying for a doctoral degree at Louisiana State University. They were reunited last year.
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 Debbie Bilyeu, Greenwood High School
Debbie Bilyeu teaches advanced placement chemistry I and II at Greenwood High School and was recently involved with the planning of a new science building. In his nomination essay, senior Joshua A. Clark wrote, "I can think of no other person (outside of my parents) who has had the patience and strength to foster within me the desire for knowledge and the skills necessary to pursue my chemical engineering degree."
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Jim Roberds, Blytheville High School
Jim Roberds teaches biology and zoology at Blytheville High School. One of Roberds' notable qualities is the way he inspires his students. Junior Grant Parker stated simply, "He helped me to see the world in a whole new light…this inspired me to learn more and to push myself."
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 Jim Townley, Southside High School
Jim Townley teaches the advanced placement chemistry at Southside High School in Fort Smith. He has sparked several students' interest in chemical engineering. "Without his encouragement and dedication to teaching, I would not be where I am today," freshmen Kelly Houser and Grant Johnson wrote. Senior Laney Philpott (seen in above picture) wrote, "Mr. Townley was there with the encouragement that I needed to get started."
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