Pens fan finishes as runner-up for NHL Most Valuable Teacher of the Year

Megan Campedel, a Penguins fan who teaches eighth-grade science at Avonworth Middle School, finished as runner-up for the NHL and NHLPA's Future Goals Most Valuable Teacher of the Year presented by SAP.

Campedel will receive a $10,000 donation of tech equipment to her school's district, courtesy of SAP.

"That is just so generous," Campedel said. "It's going to impact so many kids that right now, don't have access to technology that they deserve. That is just amazing to hear. It means a lot."

Campedel learned of the donation during a Zoom pep rally with Avonworth Middle School principal Mike Hall and a few of her students. It was emceed by Penguins Radio Network and PensTV host Josh Getzoff, with Penguins forward Bryan Rust - who has a degree in finance and counts math and science as his favorite subjects - joining as a special guest.

"I'm excited to be here," Rust said. "This is awesome. I'm excited to celebrate Megan. I'm really excited to hear how Avonworth Middle School has been learning given the tough circumstances."

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Campedel was one of three finalists who emerged from a field of 36 teachers across the U.S. and Canada over the course of three months from January to March. She was voted the Most Valuable Teacher of the Month for January after using the Future Goals program to demonstrate how science affects hockey.

This is Campedel's fifth year using the Future Goals program, which partners with Everfi - a critical skills education platform - to teach skills with a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) sports curriculum called Hockey Scholar to help prepare students for success in life. Using hockey as a STEM learning vehicle, the Hockey Scholar program helps students understand the real-world applications of science and math principles.

"I started using the modules as reinforcement for physics and chemistry content," Campedel said. "Then we extended it a little bit further this year and had a project where we were able to partner with the Penguins Foundation and go to the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, where students were able to design their own investigations. They saw how the mass of a hockey puck affects its acceleration, or how friction affects the speed of a hockey puck."

Now that they have transitioned to virtual learning, Campedel's students are taking all of the concepts they learned in the fall through those projects and applying them to personalized science investigations.

"I'm so proud of everything my students have done," she said. "I wanted to make sure that what I planned for them was something meaningful. … I think it's something they've enjoyed doing at home, so that has really been rewarding for me, to see their excitement."

Click here for Megan's full story.