Spotlight: Adam Wolfe (WV '24)

West Virginia Milken Educator Adam Wolfe (WV ‘24) is a ninth through twelfth grade math and engineering teacher at Nitro High School. Wolfe empowers his students by blending hands-on learning with real-world applications, from designing community projects to creating innovative solutions. A former engineer, he fosters partnerships that connect classroom lessons with local organizations, preparing students for success in academics and the workforce. Wolfe received a 2024-25 West Virginia Milken Educator Award on December 17, 2024.

Milken Family Foundation: How have students responded since your Milken Educator Award surprise?

Honestly, very supportive. Some gentle ribbing from some, particularly about the money, but all in good fun. It was very surprising to me at first, some of the students who offered congratulations in the hall. Many students, who, I’ll be generous and say they were less than stellar when I had them in class, offered congratulations and told me they felt it was deserved. That goes a long way to realize that even when you don’t think you’ve made a difference, perhaps you’ve done more than you think.

MFF: Who are your role models as an educator?

So many. I will forever be grateful for my first job in education at Herbert Hoover High School. I was across the hall from two other math teachers: Steve Canterbury and Denise Agee. It was the perfect situation because they were both excellent teachers, but had much different philosophies with regard for all of the “other” stuff you have to do as an educator. As a second-career educator who basically just got dropped into a classroom (I hadn’t done any student teaching), I was drowning that first year. Steve in particular recognized that and anytime I was visibly struggling he would come over and offer advice that I’ve now found myself giving newer teachers. “Do you know math?” Steve would say. “Good. Shut your door and teach math. That’s the important thing. The rest of the stuff will come.” It was so helpful. And then as I was able to take on more, Denise knew seemingly everything and was able to help me get through it all that first year or two.

MFF: What inspired you to be an educator?

It's easy to say the teachers I had growing up inspired me, and obviously they had an impact on me, but I’m going to say my own children. As I mentioned earlier, I’m a second-career educator. I started my adult life as an engineer and after working in that field for several years, I was miserable. Not only was I miserable in the work I was doing, but I know that I was also bringing that misery home and making my home a less than pleasant place. Wanting something better for me and my family is what led me to pursue my career in education and it’s what continues to inspire me today.

MFF: What do you hope students remember from their time with you?

That I cared for them. Genuinely.

MFF: How do you use real-world engineering projects to keep students engaged and connect math concepts to practical outcomes?

I think the biggest thing we struggle with today as educators is engagement. There is lots of research and experience that tells us project-based learning is a huge tool in terms of engagement. What I try to do is bring in external partners with my project- based learning. I’ve found that students have significantly more buy-in if there is some external partner with tangible consequences tied to our projects, rather than just some clearly made up thing that I conjured up for them. 

MFF: What has been the most impactful community partnership you’ve developed, and how did it enhance student learning?

There are many and it’s hard to pick just one. I’ll give you two. One partnership would have to be our partnership with the City of Nitro. We’ve done many smaller projects with the city but the one project that probably had the biggest visibility and largest impact on the students and our program was our construction of flashing school zone lights for Nitro Elementary School. In that project, students got experience researching specifications and codes related to placement of the signs, as well as experience on performing the necessary calculations for designing the foundation of the posts holding the signs. They also got practical experience of installing them as we dug the holes, poured the concrete, and set up the signs as well. The other partnership I’d like to highlight is that with my former employer Terradon Design Corporation. We partnered on some projects with that organization, but the big highlight is the number of internships for my students that were borne out of that relationship. 

MFF: What advice would you share with people who want to work in education?

Get into teaching for the right reasons. If you care about improving the lives of young people and genuinely want to work at your craft and do the best job possible, everything else will work itself out. The thing I love about education is that I will never be able to perfect my work. You have to constantly be analyzing what you’re doing and be focused on self-improvement.