Long-time Purcell Junior High STEM instructor Paul Wollenberg raked in quite an honor at the National TSA Competition in Dallas last week.

Wollenberg has taught the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) curriculum here for 25 years.

His students have won state and national awards for years and this year it was he who reaped the award.

Wollenberg was named the Middle School STEM Advisor of the Year for Oklahoma.

Presentation of the big award came in Dallas at the national competition June 26-30 at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center.

“I had a great group of students who loved to be around STEM activities,” Wollenberg said. “This was a culmination of what my students were able to do this year.”

Wollenberg said he had 30 TSA members taking 14 to state and 11 to the national competition.

The 1992 PHS graduate initially began teaching technology when he first stepped on campus as an instructor and has never looked back.

“It’s an upgrade from the old wood shop days and is constantly evolving just like technology itself,” Wollenberg said.

“It’s teaching hands-on learning and looking for ways for students to unlock their talents,” he said.

Wollenberg has taught a wide range of students over the years.

That’s where the difficulty comes in finding what the capability of each student is.

“It can be your academic students or your hands-on and mechanically minded student.

“Sometimes they just understand how things work,” he said. “It’s gratifying to help students find their niche in life.”

Wollenberg said a really neat thing happened to him after the school posted his award on their Facebook page.

“One of the cool things after the school posted it I received 10-15 texts from former students,” he said with a big grin. “It was touching to have students who still remember me.”

His biggest challenge?

“It’s trying to stay ahead of the curve,” he admitted. “Kids have as much knowledge about things as I do. I just have to focus on the big picture instead of instant gratification.”

Wollenberg said his students have done robots for years but there is a lot more to it than meets the eye.

“You have to do the engineering, the programming, the coding and documentation of what you’ve done. So it’s not just showing up and playing robot.”

There is a wide variety of different competitions in the STEM competitions.

“We have 30 different competitions including things like public speaking, digital robotics, aerodynamic design and even encompassing the medical field,” he said.

There is even a forensic event.

“We have an off-the-grid event about researching how third world countries can survive when a living habitat,” he said.

He should know all about it because he’s the best in the State of Oklahoma.