(239) 689-3602

Our Founders:

Meet the Shores

Award-Winning Educators & Passionate Innovators

Ever wonder where the idea of Full STEAM Ahead began? Here’s the story behind the dynamic duo who made it all happen. Hilary and Ryan Shore, award-winning educators with a passion for creative learning, are the heart and soul behind Full STEAM Ahead. They’ve combined their love for teaching and their desire to inspire the next generation of innovators into one extraordinary learning environment. The knowledge and experience of the Shores laid the foundation for Full STEAM Ahead's unrivaled programs and success.

Hilary Shore

Co-Founder, Director of Marketing

Master’s Degree in Music Education from USF 🎓
Award-winning music teacher and curriculum leader 🎶
Marathon finisher and musical performer🎼

Hilary combines her creativity and strategic thinking as the Director of Marketing, ensuring the vision of Full STEAM Ahead reaches every family in the community. Her love for the arts and education shines through every project, both in the classroom and beyond! The groundwork for the arts program was created by Hilary's love of Music and Art, and continues today through her staff trainings, lesson plans, and passion for all things art.

Ryan Shore

Co-Founder, President

2014 Golden Apple Award Winner for Teaching Excellence 🍎
Former Gifted Math and Science Teacher 🧠
Collegiate All-American Rugby Player and High School All-American Swimmer 🏉🏊‍♂️

Ryan’ s passion for problem-solving and hands-on learning has shaped Full STEAM Ahead’s STEM curriculum and vision. Whether he's helping students design a new robot or launch a rocket to space, Ryan brings a sense of innovation and curiosity to every project.

Built on Passion, Family, and Community

It all started with a dream—Hilary and Ryan moved to Florida in 2008 to pursue their teaching careers. After a very successful stint in the public schools, they found more than just a career; they discovered a way to make an even bigger impact on kids’ lives. In 2015, Full STEAM Ahead was born.

Together with their two boys, Joey and Sammy, the Shores have made learning a family affair. The Shore boys were some of the original students at Full STEAM Ahead as infants during Mrs. Shore's Kindermusik classes back in 2015. They've grown up with Full STEAM Ahead, starting coding and robotics at age 3 and constantly honing their arts abilities through piano, drums, visual arts, 3D modeling, and more. Today, Joey and Sammy have become leaders and mentors for many of the other students at Full STEAM Ahead while constantly providing feedback to Ryan and Hilary on what's fun, what's not, and how to get the most out of our kids at STEAM. Our Ft Myers location often has 3 or 4 of the Shores hanging out, teaching, learning, and always creating amazing things.

From Humble Beginnings...

The original iteration of Full STEAM Ahead was the Shore Enrichment Academy, playing heavily into Hilary's love of music and Ryan's love of Math and Science. They quickly realized that there was a critical lack of quality programs across all STEAM areas, and then set out to correct that with Full STEAM Ahead. Hilary took on the Arts, creating music, visual arts, and digital arts curricula and classes. Ryan Took on the STEM, creating Minecraft, 3D printing, Roblox, and Coding curricula and classes. Using their combined classroom experience, they blended the two together in a seamless experience that rewards innovation, problem solving, risk taking, and creativity.

Ryan and Hilary were widely recognized in the education community prior to starting Full STEAM Ahead, including Ryan being awarded the prestigious Golden Apple Award for his work teaching 4th grade in 2014. The Golden Apple Reward is given out to just a handful of teachers each year in recognition of innovation and dedication. Hilary's resume in Music Education is a mile long and includes leadership roles such as Florida State Curriculum writing and assessment writing projects.

Local and National Recognition

The Shore's and Full STEAM Ahead have been recognized by both local and national media for their hard work and dedication to STEAM education. In addition to being featured on Season 16 of The Blox, a national entrepreneurial competition show, they have been featured in many local publications. Gulfshore Life magazine featured the Shores in their "Young and Caring" article back in 2016. East Estero Living magazine wrote a feature article on the family for their Feb 2024 issue.

5k+

students taught

World class STEM and Arts education

500+

Classes run

From Coding and Robotics to Music Technolgy

4.9

Stars avg

Across all review sources like Google, Facebook, and Yelp

Years experience

Running Full STEAM Ahead full time

What's Next for the Shores?

Family Time

Nothing is more important than family, and after grinding for 10 years to get STEAM to where it is, family comes first. A healthy work-life balance allows the Shores to continue to grow personally and professionally.

STEAM Growth

Full STEAM Ahead has proven to be a valuable community asset that creates a community available nowhere else. The Shores are working hard to expand the reach of Full STEAM Ahead across Florida and beyond!

Travel

Not only is it time to see the world, but the Shores are also searching for the next great communities to bring Full STEAM Ahead to! The programs they've built deserve to be accessible to students far and wide, and that is the goal!