Mr. Mark Liepe, a science teacher at East Noble High School, has been nominated by a former student, Gabriel Stephens, to receive an award for his teaching excellence.

However, Mr. Liepe isn’t just a science teacher. He’s the chairman of the science department, the coordinator for EN kids to go to the Science Fair (Regional, State, and International), the coach for the Bi-Phy-Chem team and the Science Olympiad, and he’s also the head Girls’ and Boys’ Cross Country coach. Mr. Liepe goes way above and beyond the requirements for a typical teacher.

“You can tell that he knows so much about the material. Every time I had a question about something, whether it was for his class or another, he was more than happy to share his knowledge with me,” says Sami Kugler, a senior and member of the Science Olympiad team. The classes that Mr. Liepe teach are usually the more difficult science classes with advanced material. For example, he teaches Honors Biology, which includes an end-of-the-term science research project requirement. Devin Gingerich, a junior and member of the Bi-Phy-Chem team says, “When he answers students’ questions, he helps the student along and makes them think through the problem which ultimately helps more than just giving an answer.”

Mr. Liepe is one of the most influential teachers at East Noble. He’s helped so many students with science projects get through the competitions. A student who went on to the 2015 State Science Fair says, “I only got to go to the State competition this year because he was the best guide a student could ask for. He made all the regulations clear and made sure I followed them, while helping me with my project and providing advice where I could improve.”

Gabriel Stephens met Mr. Liepe when he was a freshman at EN in 2007 and took his Honors Biology class. Stephens completed a Science Fair project every year that he was at East Noble. During his junior year, he went on to the 2010 International Science and Engineering Fair in San Jose, California and won 3^rd place for his project in Environmental Science. Mr. Liepe says he stayed at the school with Stephens sometimes until midnight on the evenings before the Science Fairs. Mr. Liepe says, “To me, he still did most of the work, I just happened to stumble upon him.”

Stephens is currently a senior at Williams College in Williamston, Massachusetts. Williams College gives away an annual award to recognize a few of its current students’ former educators who helped them get where they are today, called the George Olmsted Jr. Class of 1924 Prize for Excellence in Secondary Teaching. Mr. Liepe is one of four teachers throughout the nation to win this award, which includes a $3,000 cash prize for Mr. Liepe and $5,000 for East Noble High School to use. Mr. Liepe, Stephens, and some other ENHS teachers agreed to use the money to buy new books for the English Department, and also to fund a science field trip for students to observe orangutan behaviors at the Indianapolis Zoo this May.