Christine Sapio takes university experience to technological heights

As science continues to evolve, it’s only natural that younger generations of students be educated on its inner workings, even if it’s just for sport. At least, that’s how Christine Sapio handles it.

Sapio, who graduated from Northern Arizona University in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in physical sciences and secondary education, grew up in Prescott and chose the university because of its sense of community and smaller class sizes.

Sapio says she chose physical sciences and secondary education as a way to combine her two passions from high school.

“It was a roundabout way, actually,” Sapio says. “I got really interested in science at a younger age, and I had done some counseling through the Girl Scouts and teaching martial arts classes and stuff like that.  I just thought I could put the two together.”

During her time at the university, Sapio participated in a variety of extracurricular activities, including the fencing club and serving as an Honors Ambassador, but the most valuable was her hands-on student teaching.

She mentored under Coconino High School (CHS) teacher Dave Thompson, who is now one of the Masters Teachers for the NAUTeach program, as well as a coach for the CocoNuts.  Several NAUTeach and engineering students volunteer at CocoNuts events.

Following graduation, Sapio began teaching at CHS as a science teacher, a job that she loves because it allows her to be creative. She describes her teaching style as having a hands-on approach in order to simplify complicated subject matter. 

“I feel very passionately that kids need to experience what it is they’re going to learn first before we start throwing numbers on it,” Sapio says. “The more actively involved they can be with it, the better they’re going to learn it.”

This applied approach carries over to Sapio’s secondary duty as robotics coach for the CocoNuts, a team of students who build robots for competitions. The CocoNuts were formed in 2007 after Sapio, at the urging of Thompson, attended a robotics competition in Phoenix.

After seeing the atmosphere firsthand, Sapio decided to work with her fellow faculty members to develop a robotics team of their own. By the fall 2007 semester, Sapio received funding from the Science Foundation Arizona to start a team and compete in For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) robotics competitions.

Since its inception, the CocoNuts have competed in a variety of state and national events, including stops around Arizona, Utah, and even Missouri. Most recently, the CocoNuts made it all the way to the semi-finals and were awarded an Engineering Inspiration Award in Utah. They went on to be seeded eleventh in their division (of 100 schools) and compete at the national stage, an impressive feat for a small team from a small town.

The CocoNuts have also won the Chairman’s Award from FIRST—a prize awarded on a regional and national level to teams that exhibit dedication to teaching science throughout their communities—three out of the four years they were eligible for it. Sapio herself was awarded Arizona FIRST Teacher of the Year at the Arizona Regional in March for her leadership and motivation as robotics coach.

Because of their success, Sapio says the CocoNuts have become one of the most influential robotics teams in northern Arizona, and they hope to spread the word about the experiences of competing at a national level.

“Our big mission is to get these opportunities out to some of the areas that are underrepresented in the area,” she says. “Some areas just don’t have the opportunities, but our success shows robotics can thrive anywhere.”

If teaching full-time and coaching robotics weren’t enough, Sapio also moonlights as a graduate student pursuing a degree in science teaching at Northern Arizona University. By allowing students to intern and acquire credit for student teaching in her classroom, Sapio herself received six credits per student teacher. Now enrolled in the program, Sapio has been working on her master’s thesis, which describes a curriculum of teaching robotics for secondary education students.

Though she took five years off, Sapio says going back to school was worth it considering the university’s prestigious programs in both science and education. Despite her success, Sapio says she originally had little idea as to what her future would hold coming into college; however, the education program r paved the way for her future.

“I really didn’t know what I wanted to major in when I went to [Northern Arizona University], but the education program turned out to be great,” Sapio says. “Everyone was pretty influential as far as teaching goes; it’s one of [the university’s] specialties.”