MARIETTA - Emily Adams dreamed of becoming a pediatrician before she attended Emory University. However, a science program in partnership with Atlanta Public Schools she participated in as a sophomore changed her life.

"It was just this perfect mesh of my love of science and my love of interacting with other people," Adams recalled of the program. "I was hooked, so I changed my career path because of that."

More than a decade later, that decision has paid off.

Adams, 31, a Walker School teacher, was recently selected as one of Georgia's three finalists for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching. The award is the highest recognition that a math or science teacher may receive for outstanding teaching in the U.S.

Adams has taught at Walker for six years and has served as chair of the Upper School's science department for three years. She teaches biology, genetics and epidemiology.

The PAEMST winner from Georgia is expected to be announced this spring. All the winners from each state receive a citation from the president, $10,000, and are invited next year to receptions, workshops and meetings with officials in Washington, D.C.

The National Science Foundation administers the PAEMST on behalf of the White House. Since 1983, more than 4,000 teachers have been recognized for their contributions to mathematics and science education.

To be eligible, teachers must teach math or science as a full-time school employee in the U.S., have at least five years of full-time teaching experience and have a bachelor's degree.

Walker physics teacher Sandy Rhoades, who won the award in 1990 for Georgia, nominated Adams. She was then required to submit letters of recommendation, samples of students' work, a video of herself teaching and a 20-page essay on her teaching philosophy.

"My philosophy is that if I can make science relevant to my students' lives and engage them as human beings who are a part of a learning community with me - so they see me learning too - then they almost always will catch the bug," said Adams. "They'll be interested and willing to be challenged and pushed because they see that this is important to my life."

In 2006, the National Association of Biology Teachers selected Adams as Georgia's Biology Teacher of the Year.

Adams received a bachelor's in biology and master's degree in teaching from Emory University. She and her husband, Nick Adams, have an 11-week-old son, Ben. She credits her mother, Sue Krauss of New Mexico, and 93-year-old grandmother, Wanda Gibson of Decatur, with inspiring her.

The subject of biology drew her because of its importance to understanding life, Adams said. The best part of teaching, she said, is the connections she builds with students who may have experienced difficulty in initially learning a subject. She said some of her former students who are now in college have credited their interest in studying science to her.

"I think I am incredibly passionate about my job," Adams said. "I work hard at being a reflective teacher. Really thinking deeply about what I am doing and what impact it has on my students; looking really objectively at what I've done and what works and what doesn't, and not being afraid to change things."

In January, President Barack Obama addressed past PAEMST recipients at the White House.

He said, "A good education, provided with the help of great teachers and mentors, is about something more. It's about instilling in a young person a love of learning and a sense of possibility in their own lives; an understanding of the world around them that will serve them no matter what they do. That's what we have to do as a nation. That's what all of you do every day."