Why Teach?

    A little about me: 

I am a TXST University Biology and Education dual major. That means when I get out of school I will not only be a certified teacher but also have all the qualifications on being a full research ready biologist! Basically meaning that my degrees will give me a lot of options when I get out of school. I am an undergraduate TA for Functional Biology Lab here at the university and have been teaching friday morning labs since last semester. I also work as a front desk secretary at Texas Ski Ranch in New Braunfels, where I work with all kinds of people! Including kids for the summer camps. I also am the Secretary for the Texas State Wakeboarding team! I LOVE science and think that it is the most interesting thing on the planet and some may say that I'm a little bit like a walking encyclopedia. 

I do follow a lot of teachers on tik tok because I really want the idea of exactly what my job will be like. Though as of right now my favorite teachers on tik tok right now are @z_hu5ain who is a science teacher that preforms a bunch of labs on tiktok with his student's reactions, @honestteachervibes who will tell you how it is working as a teacher, @hankgreen1 and @billnye will always be the OGs when it comes to science teaching, and finally @renegadesscienceteacher who explains science terms and facts about science that many highschooler ask! 

Why Teach:

To be honest teaching is kind of a family tradition. I could probably count at least 10 educators in my family tree within the last 2 generations, including my grandpa who is a superintendent of school districts. But even though it's in my blood to be a teacher, that wasn't why I chose this profession. I grew up with a rough family life in my immediate family. My parents divorced when I was 8 and till I turned 18 it was a constant custody and court battle between the two of them. This caused a lot of hard times for me when I was in school. But it was my teachers who made my life better and made me want to do my best at everything. My teachers all through out middle and high school did a lot for me and made sure I was given the life skills needed to become a better person. My teachers were the role models that my parents could never be and showed me what kindness, leaniency, inspiration, wonder, responsibility were; and mostly, my teachers showed me that there was still good in this world that for a while I viewed so dark. And I think it was because of that , that I remember all of their names. I remember what they did for me. From one of my teachers Mr. Hanhael covering my trumpet lesson fees in band when I was in middleschool, to my statistics teacher Mrs. Stiles staying after school for a couple of hours to tutor me and other students in math when we were was struggling to pass, to even my AP English teacher Mrs. Pfieffer being a lending ear when I had a lot going on and needed an adult to talk to about family issues when I felt alone. My teachers were the ones who helped me so much when I was struggling and went the extra mile to make sure I graduated and became the adult I am today. I think that it is because of this extra mile that made me want to become a teacher. It made me think that if my teachers were able to help me become the amazing person I am today, then that's what I want to do for others. 

Educational Aims: 

My biggest aim is that I want to be the teacher that is easy to approach and talk to if a student ever needs help. I also want to inspire students through biology to do their best and find all the wonders that science has to offer. I think the bio is such a good subject to do this with because it leaves a lot for students to learn with a hands on experience such as lab. It is also a subject that can be very fun and doesn't always have to take place in the classroom. When I graduate, I would like to teach high school biology in some sort of way. Either this being AP or just regular 9th grade biology. The setting this would be in will definitely be a public school and I think that it would be such a fun subject to teach. After all, class wont always have to be inside, With bio I can hold class outside in the court yard or by the school's pond/lake/ecosystem. This way I can cater towards all of the learning types I will have in my classroom. I also want to show kids that science does not always have to be that boring and hard lecture that many kids get now a days. That there are ways to learn without a computer or zoom. I am excited especially to go over fun topics too that may inspire future biologists, doctors, lawyers, conservationists, ecologists,etc to want to be in biology when they grow. I especially cannot wait to show just how diverse biology is and that it doesn't just stem from the basic nature and medical fields. Finally, I want to show students that they can express themselves through science and that they are not limited to a box that a lot of people place around biology as a subject. 

This is a photo of me and my grandfather when we were hiking Mt. Vesuvius in Italy. While my cousins were interested in hiking the volcano, my grandpa and I were more interested in the plant life and scenary around us! lol, He is one of the reasons I want to be a biology teacher as not only was he a biology teacher but also a superintendent and inspires me everyday to be successful!