Joe Cossette (BSME’11) is one of 32 teachers selected as KSTF Teaching Fellow
When Joe Cossette graduated from Iowa State in 2011, he thought he wanted to work in mechanical engineering. However, after working at Seagate Technology for two years, he decided his calling was to be an educator. He went on to get his master of education degree from the University of Minnesota.
This fall, Cossette will be teaching high school physics at Minnetonka High School in Minnesota as a KSTF Teaching Fellow. A five-year program, the KSTF Teaching Fellowship seeks to improve STEM education by building a stable, sustainable cadre of networked leading teachers.
Cossette is no stranger to the academic environment. While at Iowa State, he was the teaching assistant for the President’s Leadership Class with former ISU President Gregory Geoffroy, where he taught a leadership seminar for 30 first-year students. He also served as undergraduate assistant for the honors program.
He is looking forward to making an impact on a personal level and conducting experiments on a regular basis. “Teachers are in charge of nurturing our most sacred resource – our children. I think that’s the most important job that there is,” said Cossette.