October 25, 2022
When Cindy Welch was a sophomore in high school, her chemistry teacher Garry Pennycuff inspired her.
He was engaging, passionate and motivating.
Those attributes are what Welch has brought into her own teaching career – which is in its 17th year – and currently in her seventh year at Kingwood High School.
On October 8, Welch was recognized for her passion for teaching chemistry as the winner of the American Chemical Society Greater Houston Section 2022 Excellence in High School Chemistry Teaching Award.
Left: Welch with her award; Right: Welch and students making "chemistry come to life" in her classroom.
“It’s always very special to get recognized because you put in so much of your energy, your love and your passion for what you do,” Welch said. “So, to have other people recognize what you do is always a good feeling.”
Welch was selected as the 2022-2023 Teacher of the Year for Kingwood High School and was a finalist for the Humble ISD Teacher of the Year Award.
Being a teacher for nearly two decades, Welch has seen her students graduate and go on into their own fields, some even in chemistry. One of her former students recently getting a job at the Houston Institute of Forensic Science.
For Welch, the students are who push her to be her best each and every day. And at the core of her passion is just a love for chemistry.
“I just find it fascinating,” Welch said. “There’s just different things you can do. There’s lots of cool experiments that kids like to do … There’s different ways you can make chemistry come to life.”
What a year it has been for Welch. The awards coming one after another, but at the end of the day – it is all about her students.
“It is the students who bring me back to the school and back to the classroom, keep me motivated to do my best job,” Welch said.