Meet Michele Weeks

Meet Michele Weeks, a teacher in San Antonio, Texas. With 11 years of experience, she is currently a career and technical education teacher. Her business courses include career preparation and job exploration, and her students earn school credit for work-based learning and an opportunity to earn industry based certifications.

Michele also teaches accounting I and II, and she sponsors several school clubs, such as the Future Business Leaders of America. On being an educator, she says, “It’s been a rewarding experience, and I feel like I owe a lot to teaching and the connections I’ve made with my students.” 

Discovering GEMS: A Program for Every Student

Michele first discovered AEOP’s Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Science (GEMS) program through her friend, Ms. Marissa Rodriguez, the former Human Protections Director at U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research (USAISR). Ms. Rodriguez directly referred Michele to Mrs. Stephanie Truss, the occupational health, safety and environmental manager and GEMS program coordinator, at the USAISR. Michele joined GEMS as a GEMS II Teacher in June of 2023. She loves the program and has worked diligently to make it even better every year. 

For Michele, one unique aspect of GEMS is how the program is designed for every student, regardless of age or whether they know what career they want to pursue. The students she works with through GEMS get to explore careers, work hands-on with professionals, obtain certifications, such as Stop The Bleed, tour facilities, and more. “I mean it!” she exclaims, “It was – and truly still is – the highlight of my year.”

Michele collaborates with Mrs. Truss from the USAISR to make GEMS as strong a program as possible for as many students as possible. “I feel like we really do a great job, not just on making this selective to where you have to meet all of these strict requirements, but we really make it something special to where people feel honored. Mrs. Truss has set the standards very high for the students and staff, the program’s success is evident in the amount of students that apply for the next track and even apply to be peer mentors.” Some students even fly in from out of state for the program, she says.

Why do students and families value GEMS so much? There’s so much to gain (pun intended). “I feel like their confidence really, really improves,” Michele shared. From earning the title of “GEMS Young Scientist” to participating in a graduation ceremony, students receive recognition. Beyond that, they learn public speaking and networking skills. Michele gives her students her business card and offers to be a reference or write letters of recommendation. Many of her former GEMS students reach out for professional guidance after the program!

A Personal Connection to GEMS

Turning to her own family, Michele shares that her daughter is “finally!” in 5th grade, so she’ll be eligible for GEMS this coming summer. “I know that this program is going to continue to not just pique her interest, but also encourage her to really consider other [STEM] pathways and what she wants to do.” She adds that her older son wishes he had had the opportunity to be a part of a program like GEMS. 

One highlight from her GEMS summer was when her students had the unique opportunity to visit the Center for the Intrepid, where they gained valuable insights into the rehabilitation journey of soldiers adapting to life with limb loss. The experience went beyond observing the recovery process, going into the innovative technologies and techniques behind prosthetic development. Students engaged with hands-on simulations that demonstrated how weight distribution impacts the design of personalized prosthetics, tailored to individual lifestyles and needs.

Encouraging a STEM-Driven Future

Her passion for GEMS is familial, professional and personal. It’s “something I look forward to, and that I’m passionate about, and that I feel confident in teaching,” Michele said. She encourages her students to continue on to GEMS III, to keep asking questions, taking risks and exploring the wide range of careers available in STEM. Referencing the 2023 national employment matrix, Michele explains how the vast majority of future careers are STEM-related. “Oftentimes, when people hear ‘STEM,’ they think that they have to be really, really good at math or engineering,” Michele says. “But that’s not the case. There’s so many areas within STEM that they can investigate and learn about, hands-on. The GEMS program is exactly what they’re looking for, and we’re able to give that to them.”

To learn more about GEMS, click here.