DC Teacher Wins $30K As Part Of Amazon Future Engineer Award

WASHINGTON, DC — A teacher from Cardozo Education Campus in Columbia Heights has been named an Amazon Future Engineer Teacher of the Year, receiving a $30,000 prize — $25,000 for his school and $5K for himself.

Chosen among thousands of applicants, Aris Pangilinan, or “Mr. P,” is one of 10 teachers from across the country, recognized for going above and beyond to inspire students from underserved and historically underrepresented communities to build skills in computer science and to promote diversity and inclusion in the field.

Pangilinan learned of the honor when his colleagues and administration surprised him with an Amazon box filled with Amazon Future Engineer swag.

"Amazon Future Engineer Program, thank you for seeing us! Thank you for affirming the integrity of our work. Thank you for valuing our commitment and dedication to teaching and learning and thank you for giving Cardozo students $25,000 so they can access the innovative and ingenious field of computer science and robotics,” Pangilinan said in response to receiving the award.

Cardozo Education Campus Principal Arthur Mola said it “goes without saying” that “Mr. P is synonymous with words such as compassion and passion.”

“No one in my opinion gives more of his time and resources than Mr. P, and I cannot imagine our engineering program without his presence and contributions,” Mola said.

Pangilinan is one of 10 teachers across the country who received the Amazon Future Engineer Teacher of the Year Award. Recipients were chosen based on a variety of criteria, including their commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion within computer science education, a recommendation from a school administrator and compelling, personal anecdotes about their school and students. Scholarship America reviewed applicants and selected the award recipients.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the market for computer science professionals will grow 11 percent between 2019 and 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations and, as of May 2020, the median annual wage for computer and information technology occupations was $91,250, which is more than twice the median annual wage for all occupations.

Amazon Future Engineer is a childhood-to-career computer science education program intended to inspire and educate millions of students globally, including hundreds of thousands of students in the U.S. each year.