Congratulations to O'Connell engineering teacher, Melissa Pore, who has been named by Orlando HamCation as the 2020 recipient of the Carole Perry Educator of the Year Award. The award, which recognizes outstanding contributions in educating and advancing youth in amateur radio, was first awarded last year to its namesake, Carole Perry, WB2MGP, in honor of her work teaching students about ham radio.
Mrs. Pore (KM4CZN) is an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Education Committee member and an ambassador for the program. An educational professional for more than 20 years, Pore has been instrumental in encouraging student curiosity in computer science and engineering both in the classroom and beyond. She spearheaded O'Connell's November 2018 ARISS contact, and mentored the engineering club's ThinSat project, which was launched from Wallops Island in June 2019. She wrapped up the year as a co-facilitator of a workshop at the 2019 CubeSat developers conference at Cal Poly, followed by the opportunity for her and her students to present hands-on activities during Innovation Day at National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. She is a member of AMSAT and the NASA Goddard Amateur Radio Club.
But wait, there's more... At the same time that she was notified of this award, Pore also receive notification from Space Center Houston of her selection to the prestigious 2020 Space Educator Expedition Crew (SEEC). She and her cohort of nine K-12 teachers gathered in Houston in February, where Pore presented a hands-on workshop, and had the unique opportunity to participate in astronaut survival training program.