Why? What?

 Why?

        I receive more pushback than I anticipate sometimes when I tell people I want to teach science, I expect to get the typical ‘oh my aunt taught history’ or ‘I hated my high school science teacher' (if you know how to respond to those let me know because I don't), but every once and a while I’ll get someone asking why. Why science? To me, it's obvious. I’ve lived my entire life in a world that not only likes to ignore scientific facts but actively pushes disinformation to the spotlight. I think living through a pandemic has made me realize this even more, the amount of wrong information passed around without so much as a google search to double-check its accuracy is the most frustrating thing I've ever witnessed.

    I think this distrust and ignorance of science starts at an early age and can be influenced by having people in your life that appreciate and understand science and scientific thinking. I had my life fundamentally rocked by my high school biology class, and while I know my case is special I know that having someone in your life that is passionate about science can help to foster your natural curiosity and give you a solid ground to start exploring. 

What?

    As I said previously I had my life fundamentally changed by my high school science class, as before I had only ever received science education that ignored and taught against evolution as a scientific theory. Many things in science made sense once I was able to view them in the light of evolution. I would like to become a high school teacher, preferably teaching courses like biology, earth science, environmental science, etc. As for where I want to teach I have no clue, I know that it's typical practice to stay within the state you receive your license for a year or two, but after that, I think about moving somewhere in New England.

    I am super passionate about integrating technology such as 3D printing into classrooms and have seen what they can do to inspire students to think more scientifically.

    

My cousins (13 and 11 years old) received a 3D printer and I became the designated adult to help them set it up. I had only ever printed designs at the printers in Alkek One, so this was a challenge for us all!

After much trial and error we got it up and running!