• What is your teacher bliss?

I love when students take what they’ve learned and apply it to their own life. There are some topics that students really enjoy learning about, and I love to see the enthusiasm. I’m always happy when students ask questions about a topic because they really want to learn more. Science is about curiosity, asking questions, and discovery, and that’s why I love it. 

• What is the hardest thing about teaching?

The most difficult thing about teaching is having a topic that you really love, and trying to teach it to students who don’t put in any effort. I love biology, and I like being able to share my knowledge with students. I know that not everyone is going to love science, but it’s very disheartening to put forth all this effort on a topic I love, only to have students not care at all. Obviously, this does not apply to all students! 

• No names—describe your worst teaching experience.

In all classes, the students can make the experience a dream or a nightmare. Some of my worst days of teaching have been days where I’ve had to deal with racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, or some other sort of judgmental close mindedness. Luckily, most of our students here are accepting and open minded. 

• What is your dream vacation?

I love getting to see the natural world! A dream vacation for me is any vacation where I get to explore and see wildlife: hiking, camping, scuba diving, whatever. I’ve seen amazing waterfalls and hot springs in Iceland, beautiful coral reefs in the Cayman Islands, stunning biodiversity in Costa Rica, and this summer I’ll be going to the African Serengeti in Tanzania! 

• What would your students be surprised to find out about you?

Students may or may not be surprised to learn that I only PRETEND to be a functional adult. In reality, I am a trash goblin. Also, I have flown with NASA on their zero gravity planes. I was a human test subject, investigating the effects of zero gravity on human eyes and inner ear. It was an incredibly cool experience!

• What are your favorite summer break activities?

As long as I’m outside, I’m happy. During the summer, I play a lot of disc golf, do a lot of hiking and kayaking, and tend to my garden. My two dogs love that I’m home during the summer, and demand lots of attention and tennis ball throwing. 

• What is your advice for students?

Understand that there will always be tasks in your life that you don’t like. Homework, taxes, washing the dishes..the list goes on, and only gets longer as you get older. And the best way to get through these challenges is to just accept that they suck and do them anyway, because they have to be done. Don’t dwell on them or mope, just get them done so you can focus on enjoying the other parts of your life.