Saint Thomas Academy Educator Receives Educator Achievement Award

MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MN— An educator from Saint Thomas Academy has been awarded the Educator Achievement Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Foundation, the academy announced.

Mark Westlake, innovation center director and moderator of Saint Thomas Academy's Experimental Vehicle Team, was one of three 2021 recipients for the award, which honors K-12 educators across the country for contributing to the learning of science, mathematics, engineering, and technology both in and out of the classroom, the academy said.

Both Westlake and Saint Thomas Academy will receive money to continue their efforts in STEM education, the academy said.

Westlake will be honored in August at the virtual AIAA Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala, as well as be featured in publications such as “Aerospace America,” the academy said.

Westlake has worked at Saint Thomas Academy since 1989, where he originally worked as a physics instructor, the academy said.

Westlake also has many other accomplishments as an educator:

• He founded the Experimental Vehicle Team in 1997, where he coached the team to 15 national championships, an international championship, and numerous national records.
• He supported student teams in NASA’s Microgravity University for Educators (MgUE) and the NASA Student Opportunities in Airborne Research (SOAR) programs.
• He is a National Geographic certified teacher.
• He is a master teacher for the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam program.
• He served as chairman of the advisory committee for the Solar Car Challenge.
• He is a previous Space Educator of the Year.
• He is a previous National Teacher of the Year for the Air Force Association.
• He is a previous TEKNE Award winner.