Shawnee Mission Teacher Honored by Stanford, Recent Shawnee Mission Graduate

Brenda Bott Stanford University Teacher Tribute
Kristin Babcock

Brenda Bott, Biotechnology Signature Program coordinator and instructor, has been presented with a Stanford University Teacher Tribute for exceptional teaching.

Erin Smith, a recent Shawnee Mission West and Biotechnology Program graduate, who was recently named a member of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2018, nominated Bott for the Stanford recognition.

The university provides incoming students the opportunity to formally acknowledge an educator who played a significant role in their intellectual, academic, and personal development. Smith is part of the Stanford incoming class of 2022.

“The best teachers are the ones who catalyze possibilities within their students,” Smith said. “For me, that teacher is Mrs. Bott.”

Smith said Bott believes in the power of simple ideas, repeatedly encouraged her to ask larger questions, and always believed in her.  

“She nurtures curiosity and hands-on learning as the vital ingredients of a transformative education and life,” Smith wrote about Bott. “She believes in the potential and inherent worth of each student.”

Richard H. Shaw, dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid for Stanford, said the words written about Bott were “truly inspiring.”

“I am reminded how fortunate our students are to have had the support, guidance, and friendship of the people we honor with a Teacher Tribute,” Shaw wrote.

Click here to find out more about the Biotechnology Signature Program.

Brenda Bott Stanford University Teacher Tribute