Honoring a Quiet Champion of Science Education

The chapter presented its Unsung Hero award, honoring someone who works hard behind the scenes and rarely gets a share of the limelight, to Joe Karolchik in January. Karolchik has worked faithfully with the Education Committee for five years, leading the Adopt-a-School program and the STEM Kickstarter program. The former provides adopted schools with resources and personnel to improve hands-on scientific education, and the latter awards competitive grants of up to $5,000 to area schools for STEM-related initiatives. As STEM Kickstarter chair, Karolchik prepares all initial materials, selects annual committees, distributes information to schools and teachers, collects all grants, and collates all data for grant review. He leads the evaluation committee and presents the results to the Executive Committee. Karolchik also communicates with the chapter's school liaisons, who are the primary contacts for the schools submitting grant applications. Jessica Morgenstern, the chapter's vice president of scientific education, has worked with Karolchik on the Adopt-a-School and Kickstarter programs for the past five years. She presented the award to him. "During Joe's tenure as Kickstarter chair, AFCEA Central Maryland has seen a drastic improvement in the quality of the grant applications we receive. Joe developed a guide to help teachers submit better information, which has resulted in more grants awarded and higher dollars," Morgenstern said. The chapter awarded $66,000 in 2017. "Joe, your dedication and uncanny ability to give to these programs has not gone unnoticed. This chapter is extremely grateful for the work that you do, and we hope that you will continue to be a leader in this endeavor," Morgenstern added.

Event Photographs: