NEW TAMPA, Fla. — This week's A+ Teacher is taking stem education to another level.

Becky Bostic has won national awards for automotive service technology, was valedictorian of her class at Manatee Technical Institute and spent several years working at a Honda dealership.

Now, she's sharing that knowledge with young students to get them ready for the future.

What You Need To Know

Bostic teaches 1st grade at Turner Bartels K-8 School in New Tampa and is a science camp teacher at MOSI.

"So in this era of the pandemic, we know that learning was lost,” said Larry Plank, the Executive Director for K-12 Science Education in Hillsborough County. “We have an opportunity to accelerate that learning. Part of that means learning over summer in a fun and exciting way through STEM."

And that’s what Bostic is a part of at MOSI, working with as many as 1,800 kids this summer.

The camp is a product of a powerful partnership between Hillsborough County Public Schools and MOSI.

It's not just a job for Bostic.

Teaching Science at MOSI every summer feels like going home to family. She loves helping kids become creators and inventors not just consumers of technology. And it’s a family affair as her husband teaches technology at MOSI as well.

"The whole STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) effort is so important for kids because they get so lost in I want this and I want to do this, to how does this work? What does it do?" she said. "And the friendships that are there, the camraderie that's there. It's just awe inspiring to me, and it is the coolest thing when they come to camp on Monday, and they're like, 'Hey everbody!' Or, I'll see other kids and they'll say, 'Hi, Ms. Bostic!' So it's so rewarding to see the relationships that are being built."

Bostic is so dedicated to her students' success, she works year round and serves as a lead advisor for the technology student association.

She says listening is key

"In this past year, it was a computer, or it was a screen or it was behind a mask, but it was still beautiful,” she said. “Learning was still happening, and these kids were still engaged. And that “A-ha” moment is absolutely what I teach for, to be able to see that."