WCU Spring 2025 Magazine

When George Dargay stepped into a classroom, he did more than simply teach middle school science — he ignited curiosity.

Whether conducting hands-on experiments, leading students in competitions, or encouraging young women to break barriers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), he was a mentor, an advocate, and an inspiration for his students.

To honor his enduring impact, his wife, Eileen Dargay, established the Eileen Dargay ’74, M’77 and George Dargay ’76 Endowment at the University’s College of Education and Social Work. This scholarship provides financial support to female students pursuing STEM education, ensuring that George’s passion for science and advocacy for women in the field lives on.

He believed that everyone could understand science if it was explained the right way.

 

George dedicated his 35-year teaching career to the Penn Delco School District, where he taught middle school science at Brookhaven and Northley Middle Schools. His enthusiasm for the subject was infectious. Whether guiding students through earth science, biology, or physics, he had a knack for turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.

“He was inventive, very hands-on, and a bit of a stand-up comic,” said Eileen, a retired science teacher who taught alongside her husband. “Where someone might sit with a textbook and yawn, George would make the material mean something and turn it into fun. He’d pull examples from the students’ everyday life.”

John Ruth, a former Penn Delco School District teacher and science coordinator who also taught George in high school, described George as a model science teacher.

“He was very active with demonstrations and experimental work,” Ruth said. “He truly knew his subject matter. His students were always well prepared for high school and beyond.”

George was a driving force behind the school district’s Science Olympiad team, personally recruiting students — especially females — to participate.

“He was always encouraging them, his female students,” Eileen said. “He wanted them to see that science was not just for boys. Many of them thought science was not feminine. Mr. Dargay made sure they knew it could be for them.”

George’s love for science shaped not only his students but also his wife’s teaching career. When Eileen was first assigned to teach middle school science, she was uncertain about her ability to handle the depth of the subject. George quickly became her guide.

“He helped give depth to the material I was teaching, not only as we worked together on labs, but also as I listened to him teach and tell stories to the students from the prep room,” Eileen said. “I did not have the depth of experience in science that he did, but he gave me confidence to be able to teach it well. He believed that everyone could understand science if it was explained the right way.”

Together, George and Eileen participated in programs at Drexel University, training other teachers in hands-on science instruction. Throughout their lives, and even into their retirement in 2008, their vacations often centered around science, including yearly trips out west to visit and have outdoor fun in many national parks.

Former students frequently reconnected with him, sharing how his lessons had shaped their careers. Parents would jokingly tell him, “We had you for dinner last night,” referencing how their children recounted his engaging lessons at the dinner table.

Now, through the scholarship endowment at WCU, George’s legacy will continue to inspire future educators.