By CAGIS
Roopa Patel is a recipient of the 2025 Prime Minister’s Certificate of Achievement for Teaching Excellence in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), a prestigious national award recognizing educators who create innovative and meaningful STEM learning experiences. The award celebrates Roopa’s commitment to inspiring students through creativity, equity, and real-world problem solving.
Roopa has also volunteered with CAGIS for nearly three years, supporting girls and gender-diverse youth through more than 40 virtual events. Like many CAGIS volunteers, she brings her STEM background and professional experience to CAGIS events: supporting guest STEM experts and enriching these fun, hands-on sessions with real-world perspectives.
Read on to learn more about Roopa’s award-winning work, her STEM journey, and volunteering with CAGIS.
Meet Roopa Patel
Tell us about your involvement with CAGIS. How did you first discover CAGIS? When did you start volunteering with us?
Through my involvement in NASA-related activities at school, I came across an opportunity posted on the school board’s website to volunteer with the CAGIS Calgary branch. About two-and-a-half years ago, I connected with the Calgary Chapter Coordinator and found out about the possibility to volunteer online. Today, I volunteer with CAGIS Virtual most Saturday mornings!
What is your most memorable CAGIS event?
I look forward to every CAGIS event, as they are all meaningful and full of learning. The event involving the cardiologist was incredible since I learned so much about the workings of the human heart. Compellingly, the supporting hands-on activity mirrored the workings of the heart accurately.
What or who first drew you to STEM?
An innate sense of curiosity and asking questions about how things work was my segue into STEM. More recently, events related to climate change have become a personal quest.
Tell us about your STEM background.
My first profession was as a pastry chef. I was passionate about the hands-on aspect of making desserts and baking, a science requiring precision. This was followed by a career as a culinary arts teacher, which involved teaching cooking and baking to teenage students from urban settings. Teaching students a life skill – cooking for 25 years has been extremely rewarding. Pursuing an M.Ed. in Sustainability, Creativity, and Innovation strengthened my experience with STEM.
You are a recent recipient of the 2025 Prime Minister’s Certificate of Achievement for Teaching Excellence in STEM. Tell us about why you were recognized for this award and what it means to receive it.
I was recognized for this award for involving students from an inner-city high school in growing edible plants for NASA. For four consecutive years, we conducted trials on numerous edible plants with given parameters for NASA’s “Growing Beyond Earth” project. This has been an incredible opportunity for my students and me to participate in providing data for a manned mission to Mars! Contributing to research leading to this space mission has been a phenomenal opportunity!
A lot of hard work and perseverance went into writing grants and building this project at our school. It was an honour to be recognized with this prestigious award.
What advice do you have for future STEM experts?
I believe it is important to work hard and persevere to follow one’s dreams. As well, getting involved in STEM activities by giving back to the next generation are incredibly fulfilling and rewarding experience.
