A University of Maryland professor’s work mentoring youth has led to her nomination for an award that honors black professionals working in science.

Earlene Armstrong is one of five blacks who this week could receive the first national Banneker Legacy Award, given by the Benjamin Banneker Institute for Science and Technology.

“Dr. Armstrong has been a leader on campus in helping members of under-represented groups succeed in the sciences. She has also developed a very popular summer Insect Camp for middle school students,” said Norma Allewell, dean of the College of Chemical and Life Sciences at the university in College Park. “Dr. Armstrong does superb work in student mentoring, including the development of her highly successful pre-freshman summer program.”

Armstrong, who has been a professor at Maryland since 1976, has mentored more than 1,000 minority students and received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring from President Bush in 2001, according to a university press release.

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As part of her mentoring, she tells parents anyone can explore nature.

“For children, it’s just a matter of going outside and observing things in nature,” Armstrong said.

She said her parents as well as primary and secondary school teachers encouraged her to learn while stressing the importance of education.

She said she appreciates her mentors and believes mentorship is missing from schools.

“Students are lacking mentoring that students in my generation may have had,” Armstrong said. “There aren’t enough teachers that care enough about students performance.”

mfavor@baltimoreexaminer.com