Major: Zoology

Minor: UF Teach

Graduate: 2013

I am a Canadian international student here at the University of Florida. I am an aspiring teacher and love science and biology. I want to teach high school biology and I enjoyed teaching a 10^th grade honors biology class last semester. As for my long term goals  I want to engage in STEM research, STEM research in informal settings and educational research.

There are many reasons I want to teach. I want to remove the social stigma that shrouds science.  I want to motivate and inspire students to become inquisitive about the world. I want to open their minds and help them get closer to finding their passion. I want to provide them with a safe haven, where they can learn and actively participate in science, and voice their opinions without feeling ostracized or judged. I want to help them reach their full potential; beyond what they ever thought they could accomplish and send them out into the real world as active participating citizens of the world who want to make a difference.

My most memorable teaching experience would have to be when I taught a 5th grade class after school as part of SHIP (School Health Interdisciplinary Program) at a local elementary school in Gainesville. The lesson incorporated math and engineering concepts (STEM), not exactly my forte. However, the night before I reviewed the concepts of slopes, inclined planes and screws, yes screws. I thought I understood the concept but until I had actually facilitated the lesson and the students built the “screws” out of Kinects, I realized I had never really understood the concept thoroughly. This was an exciting day for me, and my students. Just watching the students engage in math and connect to a real tangible object such as a screw, and actually enjoy the process of learning really hit home. I knew I wanted to teach forever, because the learning process never stops.

I am currently interning at the Florida Museum of Natural History and the Natural Area Teaching Lab. I love working at both of these locations as they provide me many opportunities for hands on learning experiences in informal learning settings and building strong professional relationships, and appreciating, fostering. Moreover, the staff at both of these locations is friendly, helpful and gives me independence for creative work on projects that will benefit the public, students and educators. As of now I am working on an interactive magnetic board for a new exhbit at the museum. I have been given almost 100% creative freedom in graphic design which I appreciate. At NATL I am working on a series on videos about common invasive species found in NATL. these videos are meant to inform and help the public become more aware about invasive species and the threats they pose. However the videos’ real purpose is to align with a lesson plan about invasive species and the big idea of interdependence, which will be available to all educators.