When Hilary Lozar left the traditional classroom after 11 years, she thought she was walking away from teaching altogether. Burnout had set in. The rigid scripts and standardized programs left little room for creativity, and she felt like her passion for education was slipping away.
But what she discovered next reignited her “why.”
By creating her own STEM program—first in her elementary school and later as STEM Coordinator at the Boys and Girls Club serving Flathead and Mission Valleys in Montana—Hilary not only found joy in teaching again, she built a model for how STEM can spark curiosity, foster belonging, and open doors for students who might otherwise be left out.
Rekindling the Joy of Teaching
STEM, Hilary realized, wasn’t just about science, technology, engineering, and math. It was about creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving.
“When I was able to create my own STEM program with my own resources and my own goals…it was everything I’d missed out on in those 11 years of teaching,” she recalls.
That freedom, combined with the hands-on nature of STEM, made learning come alive for her students. Whether building bee houses, experimenting with drones, or tackling Lego engineering challenges, Hilary saw how quickly students who were once disengaged could light up with curiosity.
Innovation with Cultural Responsiveness
Working with Native American youth on reservations, Hilary has learned that STEM and cultural traditions often overlap. From regalia design to drum making, many traditional practices are rooted in engineering, design, and scientific principles.
But she also recognizes the need for cultural respect and responsiveness. Her Thinkering Fellowship capstone began as a project to record tribal traditions with 360° cameras for VR learning, but she quickly pivoted. “Out of respect for tribal knowledge, I decided to shift toward other activities that still carry barriers for kids—like hockey or fly fishing—that we can capture in VR and make accessible”.
Her vision is clear: build the platform, prove its impact, and then return to the tribes with a tool that they can decide how to use.
Building Belonging Through STEM
For Hilary, STEM is as much about belonging as it is about academics. “You can take the most varied group of students and, within a few minutes, find something they’re all passionate about,” she explains.
Her approach is simple but powerful: give every student a role. The hands-on learners dive in, while the quieter ones take on “project manager” roles, guiding the process. Before long, everyone is engaged, mixing roles, and discovering new strengths.
That’s the humanizing power of STEM—it shows students that technology and engineering aren’t abstract concepts. They’re tools that require human creativity, collaboration, and care.
The Challenges of Rural STEM
Despite the successes, Hilary is candid about the challenges. Funding cuts, shrinking student populations, and time constraints in rural schools all make it harder to justify or sustain STEM initiatives. Too often, schools push STEM to the margins in favor of more “tested” subjects.
But Hilary has found that showing educators and parents how STEM strengthens reading, math, and soft skills opens doors. “Your STEM education will strengthen your reading, and your reading will strengthen STEM,” she notes.
A First Step That Changed Everything
Looking back, Hilary sees her decision to pursue an additional degree in science education as the pivotal first step. It gave her the credentials to launch her first STEM program—and the courage to build something new when the old system no longer worked.
“Take that first step,” she advises other educators with quiet dreams. “It’s always the hardest, but if you don’t take it, you’ll never move forward. And if it’s not the right one, you’re only one step away from going back. But most of the time, it’s going to be worth it”.
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Join the Movement
Hilary Lozar’s journey shows us that STEM isn’t just a curriculum—it’s a lifestyle, a community, and a way of unlocking student potential in even the most rural and underfunded schools.
This is what Thinkering is all about—real people, bold projects, human stories.
If you’re ready to bring your own dream project to life, join the Thinkering Fellowship today and be empowered to build what matters.
