Maine West High School CTE teacher Joseph Pederson was recently granted a high honor from Stanford University. As part of the new student induction for freshmen at the university, freshmen are given the opportunity to formally acknowledge an educator who played a significant role in their intellectual, academic and personal development. It is called Stanford’s Teacher Tribute Inititative and allows students to express their appreciation and honor those who have made a difference in their lives.
Bhagirath Mehta named Pederson as that person in his life and had this to say about him:
“Mr. Pederson exemplifies how a master teacher can expand students’ horizons beyond the classroom. In PLTW class, he helped me apply my math and science knowledge to solve real-world problems. He enthusiastically sponsored by 3-D Innovations club, introducting me to cutting-edge technlogies to help special-needs students at the school and globally. I admire Mr. Pederson’s ability to continually improvise under pressure. Under his dynamic leadership, we accomplished seemingly unattainable projects.”