Appreciated Teacher Recipient: Dr. Dimaliwat
Dr. Noemi Celerina Dimaliwat is a STEM science teacher at Alief Early College High School in Alief ISD. She started the district’s first robotics club and has lead them to compete nationally.
When Dr. Dimaliwat started Alief ISD’s first robotics club, the district did not have enough funds to fully support her initiative. However, Dr. D (as her students refer to her) was relentless and applied for funds and grants from engineering companies all over the greater Houston area to sponsor their team. At the end of their first year, the robotics team placed 2nd against 36 veteran teams in the regional competition, and qualified for the state competition.
Although they did not win their first competition, Dr. Dimaliwat “gave us hope and assured us that no matter what, we are still the schools’ winner and pioneers of the first robotics program in the district,” said former student, Bao-Khang Ngo. “Her words gave us a reason to raise our heads during that dreadful defeat day and for once, I felt inspired to become something more.”