Chemical Engineering Grads Honor the Teachers Who Got Them There

Every chemical engineer starts somewhere, and usually with someone who encouraged them at just the right moment. For three U of A graduates, that someone was a high school teacher they have now chosen to thank.

The Ralph E. Martin Department of Chemical Engineering recognizes Katie Blanchard of Martin High School in Arlington, Texas; Emily Pierce of Pulaski Academy in Little Rock; and Amanda Teece of Bentonville High School in Bentonville, as its newest Distinguished High School Mentors, each nominated by a recent graduate of its undergraduate program.

The award allows chemical engineering students to recognize outstanding mentors who have consistently motivated them to strive for excellence and greater achievement. Mentors can be teachers, counselors, principals, ministers and others who supported students during high school. The award began in 2002.

Each recipient was informed of their award at the end of April and received a plaque commemorating their accomplishment, as well as a donation to the mentor's high school from the Arkansas Academy of Chemical Engineers to be used in the teacher's classroom activities. The academy was established to recognize outstanding chemical engineers and provide support for the Ralph E. Martin Department of Chemical Engineering.

Information about each recipient is shared below.

Katie Blanchard

Blanchard recently completed her 20th year in education, 12 of them at Martin High School in Arlington, Texas, where she has taught every level of high school English and now serves as the school's advanced academics coordinator. She says she feels lucky to have spent those years working with what she calls some of the most amazing students. Blanchard is the mother of three sons and is married to an assistant principal at another Arlington school.

Blanchard was nominated by Emilyann Reeve, B.S.'25.

Emily Pierce

Pierce has taught Advanced Placement Calculus AB and BC at Pulaski Academy in Little Rock for 25 years, where she is an upper school mathematics teacher. She describes her classroom as both rigorous and supportive, a place that pushes students to think critically while building their confidence, and she says she works to make complex mathematical concepts accessible by emphasizing problem-solving and real-world applications. Over her career, she says, that approach has sent generations of students on to further study in mathematics, engineering and other STEM fields.

Pierce was nominated by Avery Fiser, B.S.'24.

Amanda Teece

Teece earned a bachelor's degree in exercise science from the U of A and a master's degree in secondary education from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She taught biology, anatomy and physiology, and ecology in St. Louis Public Schools for three years before returning to Northwest Arkansas and joining the faculty of Bentonville High School, where she has taught for 14 years. She began with on-level and Pre-AP biology and, for roughly the last eight years, has taught AP Biology and Anatomy & Physiology, work she says she has come to enjoy for its rigor and variety. Her goal, she says, is for every student to feel they belong, to be challenged and to develop an appreciation for life science.

Teece has served as a Professional Learning Community leader for much of her career and has led the Science Department for the past two years. She has twice been nominated for Science Teacher of the Year and was named Bentonville High School's Teacher of the Year in 2025. She and her husband, Erik Teece, a corporate wellness chiropractor, have two children in Bentonville Public Schools who compete in sports. In her free time, she enjoys walking the family's dogs, reading and tackling projects around the house.

Teece was nominated by Russ Tharp, B.S.'24.

"On behalf of the faculty, staff and students of the Ralph E. Martin Department of Chemical Engineering, it is my sincere pleasure to congratulate each of these inspiring educators on being selected as Distinguished High School Mentors," said Keisha Bishop Walters, department head and professor.

About the Department of Chemical Engineering: Chemical engineering has been a part of the University of Arkansas curriculum since 1903. Today, the Ralph E. Martin Department of Chemical Engineering has an enrollment of over 300 students in its undergraduate and graduate degree programs and houses five endowed chairs and nine endowed professorships to support its faculty. Faculty expertise includes cellular engineering, chemical process safety, advanced materials, computational modeling, and membrane separations. A wide range of fundamental and applied research is conducted in the areas of energy, health, sustainability, and computational chemical engineering. The department is also home to the Chemical Hazards Research Center and is the lead site for the NSF-sponsored Membrane Science, Engineering, & Technology (MAST) Center. The Department of Chemical Engineering is named for alumnus Ralph E. Martin (B.S.Ch.E.'58, M.S.Ch.E.'60) in recognition of his generous 2005 endowment gift.