Melanie Schwarzbach - 2010 Fellow

Box Elder HS, Box Elder, MT District: Box Elder School District Grades: 9-12 Main Street Box Elder, MT 59521

Melanie Schwarzbach has taught in rural Montana for the past 16 years. She attended Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota where she majored in Biology and minored in Chemistry & History. Schwarzbach then attended North Dakota State University to earn her teaching credentials and recently earned her Master’s of Science in Teaching Biological Science from Miami University (Ohio). Melanie lives in Big Sandy, Montana with her husband, Shaud and three sons, Eric, Tyler and Cameron.

Schwarzbach started her research program at Box Elder High School in 2003 to assist one student working on her project after school. Gradually, interest in the program grew and with the support of her school district, science research is now offered as an elective class during the school day. The class, supported by funding from Society for Science & the Public, draws close to 15% of the student body. 

Since becoming an SSP Fellow in 2010, Melanie has mentored four students who qualified as finalists at the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair. Thanks to science research projects, two students earned scholarships totaling over $45,000 for college.

Read about Melanie Schwarzbach's visit to Intel ISEF 2011 on the SSP blog.