Nina Rozes knows how to shake things up. In addition to getting to know the available technology, Roycemore’s new Innovation Coach and STEAM Teacher’s first few months have been spent figuring out where Roycemore has room to grow. She’s held individual meetings with each faculty member, figuring out how best to fit innovation, technology, and project-based learning into their curriculum. From 3-D printing instruments in music class to creating a robotics cart for interested students to explore, our educators have received the chance to discover what innovation means to them and their classes.

Nina has always been a Maker. She discovered her taste for making as a visual artist and quickly realized that the feeling of a studio where everyone was creating together was as much a part of her love for art as her individual creative vision. An especially impactful project during undergrad studies that combined oral history, coding, and art led her to STEAM education. This provided an avenue to cultivate spaces where students feel that same creative energy. She works to uplift students’ voices and believes that teaching provides a way to recognize the impact that young people can have on the world, an impact that is too often dismissed by adults and those in power.

In a recent conversation with Nina, she emphasized that her work at Roycemore is rooted in her teaching philosophy of “creativity and agency.” She values relationships across all aspects of her work and wants to ensure that her classes and workshops emphasize problem-solving and a growth mindset (two keys to project-based learning!). Her dream for Roycemore is a school where educators feel empowered to use technology and project-based learning creatively, stretching beyond the norm to find solutions that work for students.

As Nina prepares for the launch of our upcoming Innovation Center, which will provide students at Roycemore the opportunity for hands-on learning with cutting-edge technology, she’s pretty busy! However, she still makes time to play with her toddler, cat, and dog. She also loves spending time at the many museums Chicagoland offers (she ranks the National Museum of Mexican Art as her favorite, both for the incredible curation and the free admission) and trying different restaurants. Nina’s work in innovation and STEAM is essential to helping our graduates become the globally-focused problem solvers that Roycemore fosters!