Major: Mathematics

Minor: UFTeach

Graduate: 2013

I was born and raised in Gainesville and grew to love the city from an early age. I worked varying jobs growing up and continued working through college. I grew up in a tight-knit family with a sister and a brother. I come from a teaching background as both my parents used to be teachers. My dad is going back for his masters and plans to teach again in a few years at the university level.

Coming from a teaching background I learned to love and enjoy teaching from a very young age. I used to accompany my dad to work often and attend his classes as if I were a student and would help him with grading afterward. I have wanted to teach for years and am excited to finally get the chance soon. The student teaching I have done so far has made a tremendous impact on me in many ways. One experience in particular was when a group of students at a local high school told me that they had never been interested in mathematics until I showed them some of the techniques that I did. It made me realize maybe I was actually making a difference like I’d hoped.

With the Noyce Program, I have been given the opportunity to work at the Florida Museum of Natural History as well as other educational places to further my knowledge in the education field. In my museum internship I will be creating mathematics in the museum. I am ecstatic to do my project; I will be showing students, teachers, and parents how mathematics can be found in fossils, shark teeth, and the shark exhibit as a whole. I will be creating lesson plans for a lead in and follow up for classroom field trips as well as a teacher’s guide to the exhibit.

The Noyce program has given me the opportunity to work in a field that I love without the stress of money looming over my head. I have been able to cut back my hours at my full time job drastically so that I can immerse myself in a field that I have been thoroughly trained and preparing for. This program has meant a lot to me and I cannot begin to explain how much I appreciate the scholarship and opportunities it has given me.