The April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon oil spill was miles away, but its impact reached unexpected corners of the country.
Watching the community come together to restore the coast left a lasting impact on a young scientist, Krista Fleming. Soon after the oil spill, Fleming found her way to connect with the environment through scuba diving. Immersing herself beneath the surface, she saw how fragile the natural world can really be. Years later, as an environmental science teacher, Fleming carries those lessons she learned into the classroom. For her students, science isn't just confined to a textbook; it's something you dive into, fight to protect, and find your place in.
Fleming's success in teaching wasn’t always the plan. Her pathway was shaped by her love for animals and conservation. While working at a zoo in college, she discovered that science really has a way of inspiring people to care about the world around them. Later, scuba diving only deepened that philosophy. “Immersion in the environment makes you realize how fragile it is,” she explained, reflecting on how diving below the surface shows so much beauty but so much vulnerability. When she stepped into the classroom, she knew she wanted to teach in a way that was transformative. With support from Gulf Shores City Schools, she began developing a curriculum that reached far beyond traditional lessons.
Her efforts have not gone unnoticed. Fleming has received awards on the local, state, and national levels, including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching Math and Science as well as the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators. For her, these honors felt surreal. “One day you're arriving at 6 a.m. for bus duty, teaching all day, cleaning the room after school, and taking students on trips,” she said, “and the next, you're in Washington D.C., being recognized by the President.” But she doesn't see these awards as hers alone. Instead, she describes them as a reflection of her own students' curiosity and dedication. “It's just as much a reflection of my students’ contributions as mine. Together, we've expanded the classroom beyond four walls.”
The students are truly the heart of her mission. Fleming says she is most inspired by those who bring curiosity outside the classroom because that's what makes every lesson an adventure rather than a lecture. Getting outside the classroom is crucial to her teaching philosophy, whether it's through testing local waters for microplastics, measuring oysters along the coast, or tracking data during a walk through Gulf State Park. She leads her students in local coastal cleanups, guiding them to see firsthand what community involvement can do for the environment.
“Those informal teaching moments, when you're on the dock, and a bald eagle flies by, and you get to tell a student the difference between a young and old bald eagle, are when science really comes alive,” Fleming explained. She strives to make her classroom a place that encourages responsibility beyond academics, showing them the importance of being stewards of the environment—not just preparing them for their future beyond the classroom, but preparing them to care about the future they step into.
While Fleming has many accomplishments behind her, she is always looking ahead, eager to expand opportunities for her students. She has recently earned her sailing instructor's license and wants to somehow weave sailing, scuba diving, and kayaking into a course that immerses students in science as an experience, not just a subject. With the new Gulf Shores High School being built, she's excited to integrate these programs into its foundation. She also hopes to participate in the Grosvenor National Geographic Charter, which could take her to Antarctica. Bringing back that kind of firsthand knowledge, she believes, could inspire students in ways no textbook ever could. The future of teaching for Fleming means going further, literally and figuratively.
Still, teaching isn't without its challenges. Fleming explains there are days when the road isn't exactly linear. But she says the outcome makes it all worth it. “There’s no better feeling than seeing a student who struggled throughout high school walk across that stage at graduation,” she said. Moments like that remind her why she teaches and why she pushes through. It's not just about sharing knowledge, but about opening doors for students who may not see their own potential yet. Whether it's in her personal life or in science, she believes perseverance is part of the journey, and celebrating the small victories is what makes it worth it.
For Krista Fleming, teaching is about more than covering standards or spewing repetitive lectures. It's about guiding students to become stewards of the world around them. Whether they pick up plastics on the beach, recycle, or volunteer in any way they can, she shows that every action matters. Fleming’s greatest achievement is not the awards she has on the shelf, but the power she has to encourage curiosity, confidence, and exploration within her classroom, and her hope is for each of them to carry those characteristics with them into the future.
Molly Henry is a senior at Gulf Shores High School and a dual-enrolled student at Coastal Alabama Community College. Having studied journalism in New York City, covering New-York Fashion Week, & founding her school’s Journalism Club. Molly plans to study journalism and communications in college. She loves concerts, films, music, her friends, and writing about what inspires her.
There’s no better feeling than seeing a student who struggled throughout high school walk across that stage at graduation.