Amazon has announced that Grace Finn, a third through eighth grade STEM teacher who works at Forest Park Middle School and Field-Stevenson Elementary, was chosen as one of fifty educators to join the Amazon Future Engineer Teacher Ambassador Program.

Finn is a GTE, Robotics, Flight & Space teacher for third through eighth graders in Forest Park. She and forty-nine other educators were chosen from hundreds of eligible teachers across the country to participate in the two-year paid fellowship with Amazon. 

Finn has taught in Forest Park for over 29 years. “I believe empowering students to explore, analyze, and propose solutions to real-world problems as they hone in on the C's (critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity) is an integral part of creating a community of learners,” she said. “I encourage students to be curious and fuel their passion for learning with access totech-infused opportunities which allows them to integrate 3-D printing, coding, drones, robotics, Micro:bit and Python coding into their solutions.”

The Amazon Future Engineer initiative is a charity program dedicated to “increasing equitable access to high-quality computer science education for children and young adults,” according to a press release from Amazon. As part of the program, Finn will help introduce and expand computer science programs and lessons in her community.

"Amazon is excited to announce the 2024 Amazon Future Engineer Teacher Ambassador cohort - a group of exceptional educators dedicated to expanding STEM education and tech opportunities for students," said Victor Reinoso, global director of Amazon's philanthropic education initiatives. "Equitable access to computer science resources unlocks economic mobility. To create brighter futures for our students and communities, we must empower the next generation with the digital skills that today's high-paying careers require."