Kankakee Junior High STEM teacher Tywon Bender is one of 90,000 teachers across the country competing in Colossal America’s Favorite Teacher competition.

Bender, a Kankakee native who was first a student in the district before attending college, is participating in the nationwide campaign to raise funds and awareness for the Planetary Society.

This is Bender’s ninth year at Kankakee Junior High, and his fourth year teaching STEM. He graduated from Greenville University and returned home to Kankakee to work first at Garden of Prayer, then becoming the director of Chromebooks at the junior high. He’s been there ever since.

“It’s been a great experience for me, honestly,” Bender said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to be in the Kankakee school district from the time I was in kindergarten all the way up to 12th grade. I was very fortunate to have mentors like Greg Merrill, Sierra Davis, Marcus Strother, and Theodis Pace, and all these other people I looked up to that had a big hand in the school district.”

Bender obtained three master’s degrees in the process of becoming a teacher.

He said he never expected he would become a teacher when he was sitting in classes as a kid. He just knew he wanted to give back to the community the same way the people who helped him as a kid did. Bender has since volunteered his time as a youth football coach with the East Side Bulldogs, and he’s mentored children, along with starting his own back-to-school book bag drive and scholarship.

“My whole life, from kindergarten all the way up to high school, I only had three male teachers,” Bender said. “So now, being in a position to be a male teacher, and a black educator at that, that is rare in education. I get to give back to kids that look like me, and kids that might not have had everything growing up is the greatest motivation.”

Bender said if he wins the contest, he would upgrade the technology in his STEM classroom, expand hands-on project materials, and create more real-world learning experiences for his students. He would also return to school to earn his master’s degree and obtain his administrative license.

The winner of the Colossal America’s Favorite Teacher contest wins $25,000, a trip to Hawaii, an appearance in Reader’s Digest, and a school assembly with Bill Nye the Science Guy.

To vote for Bender, visit https://americasfavteacher.org/2026/tywon-bender.