Camilla Frenzel Wins the UtSTA Outstanding Elementary Science Educator Award

Camilla Frenzel has been a teacher for over 21 years, with the most recent 10 spent teaching sixth grade at Lincoln Elementary. This year, she was selected as Utah Science Teaching Association’s (UtSTA) Outstanding Elementary Science Educator for the Cache County, Box Elder, and Logan school districts.

Principal Audrey McKell nominated her for the award, and is so proud of her for everything she does. “She is amazing, and totally deserves this recognition,” McKell says. Frenzel was one of seven elementary teachers from across the state who were selected for the award.

While Frenzel loves her profession, she didn’t initially start out knowing that she wanted to be a teacher. But she knew that she loved kids, and loved learning about everything she could. “So I put the two together and decided to become a teacher,” Frenzel explains. “It didn’t start out as my calling in life, but every year that I do it, I just love it. It’s where I’m supposed to be.”

She received her teaching degree from Utah Valley University and earned her master’s degree from Utah State University alongside an ESL endorsement. She’s earned a few more endorsements since then, including one in elementary math and a middle school science endorsement that she is currently working on.

“I just always love to learn more,” Frenzel described. “In elementary school we teach so many different things, so I’m always trying to hone my craft.”

Her favorite part of her job is when she’s able to help students finally understand a concept they were struggling with. “I love when they start talking about it and get excited and say, ‘wait it’s like this!’” Frenzel says. “Those aha moments are just super fun.”

She believes that every subject has the potential to be exciting and impactful for students. “It doesn't matter if it’s science, social studies, math, or language arts,” she added. “I love seeing their excitement and enthusiasm as they are seeing the world around them in a new way for the first time.”

While science is her favorite subject to teach, trying to decide which one she enjoys the most is a challenge. “I love science, and it really gets me excited, but I also love telling stories in social studies. And recently I’ve started teaching a new language arts program that I also love,” Frenzel explained. “But science is the one I’m the most passionate about. I love the hands-on experiments and demonstrations with the students.”

Frenzel says the biggest reason why she enjoys working at Lincoln Elementary is the community of teachers, parents, and students. “People really care about each other, and we all want to see the best in each other,” Frenzel says. “It’s not a competition. It’s really about how we can bring everyone together and rise up alongside each other.”