Kirstin Bullington grew up outside of Chicago in Northwest Indiana, and attended the University of Evansville for her undergraduate studies, where she earned her BS in Biology and BA in Music. For graduate studies, she earned a MPH in International Health and Development from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. She served in the Peace Corps from 2000-2002 as a health specialist volunteer, assigned to Togo (West Africa) to work specifically on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In that capacity, Kirstin spent a year at UNICEF, where she worked on a vertical transmission pilot project, coordinated a nation-wide AIDS mural project, and helped write the national strategic plan against AIDS. For her second year of service, she was assigned to an NGO of traditional healers, and worked with them to develop a nationwide series of training on HIV and other tropical diseases, as well as monitoring and evaluation for their organization. It was in this capacity that she discovered her love of teaching. When she returned to the US, she joined Teach for America to enter the teaching profession, and taught high school biology in Newark, NJ for her two years of service. As a robotics coach, she was introduced to the field of engineering, and immediately sought opportunities to teach those courses at the high school level. She and her husband moved to South Carolina in 2005, and she began teaching science and engineering at Keenan High School at that time. She joined the R2i2 family in 2016 because its educational philosophy resonated with her beliefs that students should be the drivers of their educational experience.
She loves that R2i2 provides “endless possibilities” to make high school education meaningful and relevant: “Our students are able to not just dream about changing the world, but are taking concrete steps to solve some of the most challenging issues facing our society. It is a real privilege to facilitate their progress, and I am honored to be a part of it.” Kirstin’s favorite quote is: “The question, O me! so sad, recurring – What good amid these, O me, O life? Answer. That you are here- that life exists and identity, That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” -Walt Whitman, O Me! O Life!, Leaves of Grass
