Knowledgeable. Passionate. Those are some of the attributes that Caleb Coon, U.S. Navy veteran and Michigan Region 2 STEM Educator of the Year, recalls about his own instructors at Washtenaw Community College.
“I experienced their energy and excitement for both their teaching pedagogy and their content, and it helped me build my teaching philosophy and style,” says Coon, who has taught science at Beach Middle School in Chelsea for five years.
Originally from Battle Creek, Coon earned a Bachelor of Science in Business from Eastern Michigan University in 2002 before enlisting in the United States Navy for eight years.
He served as a Weapons Systems Officer in a FA-18F Super Hornet and deployed to Afghanistan in 2011. Following his tour, Coon was stationed in California as a flight instructor and finished his time as a Lieutenant.
It was his job as a Navy flight instructor that inspired him to pursue teaching as a career outside of the armed services.
He enrolled at WCC in Winter 2014 to take core science courses needed to pursue his master’s degree. Staff at the Wadhams Veterans Center helped him navigate VA-eligible programming.
Beginning science coursework mid-year wasn’t a problem at WCC. “They offered all of the needed first-level courses during the winter semester, which was not the case everywhere,” he says.
He then transferred to the University of Michigan and earned a Master of Educational Studies with a 6th-12th Grade Integrated Sciences Teaching Certification.
Coon is quick to give credit to his fellow teachers for his recent STEM Teacher of the Year honor.
“As a former military service member, I can't help but be humble when receiving an award. I am definitely proud of it, though,” he says.
“I also think it demonstrates the strong group of colleagues I work with at Beach Middle School. We all put immense amounts of energy into the educational experience we provide. I certainly don’t feel like an outlier at the school, so it’s nice to be reminded we are all exceptional educators.”
WCC serves more than 500 veteran students and their families. The college is designated a Gold-level Veteran-Friendly School and a National Military Friendly School.
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This story appears in the Fall 2024 edition of Launch magazine. See complete issue.
Tags: Alumnus, Navy, STEM Careers, STEM Educator of the Year, Teaching