Major: Mathematics              

Minor: UFTeach Math

Graduate: 2015

I am currently a sophomore studying mathematics at the University of Florida. In high school I  always excelled in math, it was my favorite subject to learn. I had amazing teachers in high school and I think they were really good role models to me because the way their teaching style has always stuck with me and someday I hope to be an inspirational role model just like them.

For me the best way to learn is through teaching. I remember in high school a couple of my classmates asked me if I could help them in algebra after school. So every day after school I would stay an extra hour with two of my classmates, then from two people it grew to ten, and soon I had a small after school classroom meeting with me almost every day after school. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was doing when I helped them with certain concepts, but I tried to take apart the process of how I learned math. I learned a lot about myself that I am a visual learner, I love relating concepts to one another, and that talking about things helps me learn the most. So thanks to my fellow classmates I learned that about myself. The most rewarding aspect of teaching is knowing that the people you teach are excited to learn and that they are growing through the process. I was

amazed when I found out that all of the students that I had been tutoring increased their grade by one or two letters. After receiving thank you notes from a couple of them I couldn’t have felt more proud of myself.

When I found out that I had gotten into the Noyce program I was ecstatic. The same day that I spoke to Dr. McFadden, I made phone calls to local museum in Naples, FL. After making about a dozen phone calls, I finally got a call back from Urmila Wadnerkar, the programs manager at Children’s Museum of Naples. On the day of the interview she showed me the programs the museum had to offer for children. I fell in love immediately. In this museum they have summer camps, fun and interactive exhibits, as well as daily amounts of activities for all the children at the museum. My responsibility for this internship is to create math, science, and art related activities. I’ve worked on a couple of these activities already and I really enjoy the one-on-one experience that I am getting with the kids and their parents.

So far through the Noyce program, I have learned that the career choice I am making of becoming a teacher is probably the best decision I’ve ever made in my college career. It has opened doors for me to do what I do, and create relationships with people that I probably wouldn’t have met if it wasn’t for the push this program gave me. I am very thankful for being a recipient of this internship, I have already done so much and it’s only the second week at the museum, I can’t even begin to imagine how far this program is going to take me in my college career. I already feel like I have made a huge leap into an amazing opportunity.