Eva Klikovac

I am a teacher at Dickinson East and the Hamtramck Public Schools Science Fair Coordinator. In 1990, I had my students develop science fair projects with real world application in my own classroom and later invited the whole school to participate. A few years later, I received the title district science fair coordinator and involved the whole district in developing science fair projects. Next, I started the “Best of the Show,” where projects from across the district were selected to participate and later invited and encouraged them to enter the Science and Engineering Fair of Metropolitan Detroit.

I got involved with doing the science fairs and scientific workshops because I wanted to share my passion of science, technology, and mathematics with our students. I wanted all my students to know that they could follow their dream; anything is possible if you believe in yourself.

As you probably know, Hamtramck is a unique community. The majority of our children come from poor struggling families. Some are refugees fleeing war-torn countries while others are from families dealing with many different problems—illness, house fires, unemployment, etc. Children often come to our school unable to speak English and in some cases never having been in an organized school because of turmoil in their native countries. We certainly have challenges to overcome but our students do achieve, even with these challenges. I am proud to play a small part in helping our students meet these challenges in innovative and exciting ways.

I have a Bachelor’s Degree from Oakland University and a Master’s Degree from Wayne State University. I am always learning from my students, student teachers, and peers. I couldn’t imagine anything better than being a teacher. The twinkle in my students’ eyes when they grasp a concept and a smile on their faces indicating they are loving learning! I was so lucky to have a professor at Oakland University who said, “Do what you love and everything else will fall in place.”