SPRINGFIELD – Bored with her job as a nutritionist, Naomi Volain switched careers and started teaching at Central High School.



She hasn't been bored since.



This week Volain was honored with a national Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, which was given to 97 teachers nationwide. She will receive the award and a $10,000 prize from the National Science Foundation this month in Washington, D.C.



"She is a consummate professional. Everything she does, she does very well. She is always learning ... and she is always improving," Central Principal Thaddeus Tokarz said.



But more telling is students love her classes, he said. Probably the most popular is her pre-Advanced Placement biology lab, Tokarz said.



Volain also teaches Advanced Placement environmental science, botany and ecology. She is also a coach of the school's Envirothon team and is a member of the NASA Network of Educator Astronaut Teachers, he said.



"I wasn't surprised because I know the caliber of professional she is, but I was thankful that she as a person and someone from Central was recognized for a high distinction," Tokarz said.



Volain was shocked.



She was nominated by the school's director of science, but had to fill out a large application. She also had to film a class that showed how she taught a topic difficult to understand. Volain said she filmed her biology class doing a laboratory assignment on cellular respiration.



"Everyone has been wonderful. I've received all kinds of congratulations. People are excited that someone from Central High School is going to Washington, D.C.," she said.



The other Massachusetts award recipient also is from Western Massachusetts. Kathleen Erickson, of Great Barrington, was honored for math.



Volain earned her bachelor's degree in nutrition and a master's degree in biology from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. She is a registered dietitian as well as a certified science teacher.



She worked as a medical copy writer and a registered dietitian, but eventually decided the job wasn't for her.



"I wanted to be around young people," she said.



Through a certification review panel she was able to take her job experience and degrees and transfer careers. She took four education classes and student taught at the High School of Science and Technology.



An opening for a science teacher at Central High School came as she was finishing her student teaching, and she has been there for 14 years.



"I like teaching. It is very active," she said. "I love what I teach, it is very interesting, and I have a lot of academic freedom."



Married for 25 years to Barry Volain, the couple has three children who graduated from Central High. Her youngest is in college, one is entering graduate school and one is in sports management.



Volain said she plans to use the $10,000 to travel and wants to zip line in the rain forests. Along with the excitement of seeing a new place, she said she hopes to gather information to enhance her classes.



"I'm always teaching even when I'm somewhere else," she said.

