Growing up in the most biodiverse country in the world gave Miriam Kannan a love for biology. In her work at
Northern Kentucky University, that passion has led to an award with for her work in academia and the Latino community.
Kannan, a native of Quito, Ecuador, started at NKU in 1979. In her time teaching microbiology, Kannan has received numerous awards for her academic work, She was named a Regents’ Professor at NKU, and Nov. 14, she received one of
YMCA’s Black and Latino Achievers of the Year Award.
For Kannan, the award reinforced the work she has been doing for decades in Cincinnati’s Latino communities. The past president of Kentucky’s Academy of Sciences currently serves as director of NKU’s Latino Center for Excellence, and in 2004, she started a Fun with Science summer camp.
The Fun with Science camps was started with NKU’s Latino Student Affairs Director as a way to reach out to Latino and multicultural middle and high school students to engage them in a week filled with chemistry, physics, geology and microbiology. The camp started as volunteer work for Kannan and some fellow faculty, but now, they have received funding and attract students from all over the world.
“Our camp has metamorphosed into an English language learner’s camp,” Kannan says. “Much of this work is why I was nominated for this award.”
The YMCA also serves as a perfect place for Kannan to find ambitious students to attend and help with her summer science camp. She pairs one undergraduate with every four camp attendees, giving them chances to interact with people from different backgrounds and opening their eyes to the diversity of plant and human life in the world.
“This award means a lot since it came from the community I work in,” Kannan says.
Do Good:
Contact: Miriam Kannan and see how you can help with the Fun with Science Summer Camp.
Volunteer: at the YWCA and give back.
Donate: to the YWCA and provide financial support to families who can afford things such as summer camp
By Evan Wallis
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