HR0911 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0911 LRB099 15788 MST 40095 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Taylor Fusinatto on being nominated for the 2015 iCon Knowledge Builder Award; and

WHEREAS, Taylor Fusinatto is currently the middle school science teacher and Department Chair at Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies with Evanston/Skokie School District 65; she is an exceptional teacher who strives to bring science to life through real-world connections; and

WHEREAS, Taylor Fusinatto is constantly seeking to provide her students with access to new technologies; she established the first Stellar Girls after-school STEM engineering program in the district; Stellar Girls introduces girls in grades 3 through 8 to current, interesting "Big Ideas" in STEM fields; through weekly hands-on program activities, girls explore how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are used to feed, fuel, heal, and save the world; participants also have the opportunity to interact with STEM professionals to learn about STEM careers, apply STEM skills to real-world problems, and employ critical-thinking skills through collaborative inquiry; the program will be entering its third year, engaging girls in inquiry-based engineering projects that merge content with ingenuity; and

WHEREAS, Taylor Fusinatto has worked on educator ambassador programs with NASA and the EPA; she has presented on nanotechnology labs adapted for middle school students at the Illinois State CONNECTIONS conference and on literacy strategies in the content areas at the Illinois Reading Council Conference; and

WHEREAS, Taylor Fusinatto participated in a materials science and nanotechnology workshop at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and acted as a research assistant on a nano-drug delivery system for chemothearputic medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Taylor Fusinatto graduated summa cum laude from Loyola University-Chicago; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Taylor Fusinatto on being nominated for the 2015 iCon Knowledge Builder Award; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Taylor Fusinatto as an expression of our esteem and respect.