Can you tell us about your background and how you decided to enter the profession that you’re in?
I always was drawn to the sciences and biology in particular. I was very much a little kid running around the woods, pointing out trees, picking up leaves and pointing at animals. The natural world always had a big draw for me. In college, I then become a Biology major and a Chemistry minor, and I really then became more fascinated with the molecular side of things. I started to work in a molecular biology lab -- there, we were studying the structure and function of proteins and how the genes are regulated. At that point, I knew I loved to do research, but I also loved to teach. I was a TA for many classes, and I thought that being a college professor would be fun. I went to graduate school with the intention of having a career that was heavily involved in undergraduate education. I wanted to do research -- I liked the research -- but I loved the teaching aspect more. Along the way with training, I took the opportunities to learn about active learning techniques and tried to teach as much as anyone would let me. After graduate school, I did a special postdoctoral fellowship that focuses on teaching. That was a perfect lead into coming here for the Biology Department, because they have a whole faculty line dedicated to undergraduate education. So, I still get to be a scientist, and I spend a lot of my time mentoring undergrads and teaching undergrads.
It’s interesting that you found a way to combine both of your passions of education and science into your profession. A lot of pre-health students aim to incorporate different fields of study into science but being able to translate that incorporation in the real world seems difficult.
It’s always something too, that whatever field you go into, science or otherwise, you need to be able to communicate it well. Another thing I really enjoy doing with teaching is communicating through visual literacy; Can you say it, can you draw a model, can you write an equation? If you can do all of those things, you’ve mastered different ways to communicate the same information. For pre-health, these different areas of study develop strong communication, and that automatically translates to the real world because you want to be able to communicate with your colleagues and with your patients.
In your classes, you utilize group work and concept maps frequently. What is the value behind these tactics?
The number one thing that employers are looking for in a college graduate (from some report that came out a couple of years ago) is being able to work collaboratively. Group work that I try to use in class is not only good for learning, because you verbalize your idea out loud to a peer that shares the same level of communication, but also helps you understand your idea even better.
Shifting gears a little bit, if you saw the version of yourself from five years ago, what advice would you offer?
Stay the course. School is hard. Life is hard. Sometimes, highly achieving people tend to suffer from imposter syndrome. People that are striving and going for it can struggle sometimes with the fears that they’re not good enough. It’s okay that it’s hard. We all struggle sometimes, and you think, “Oh I’m not going to be able to do it” but sometimes it’s okay for it to be hard. If you already knew all the answers, why would you be in a training situation? It’s okay for it to be hard, and just push through; stay the course.
People get caught in the ‘trying’ to be exceptional, versus just taking a deep breath, living your life, and acknowledging that you are exceptional.
Going off of that, how long is it okay for something to be hard? When do you conclude that it’s been too hard for too long, and this isn’t for me -- Should that even be a conclusion?
That’s really true. Science doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Social concerns, your life and your training don’t happen in a vacuum. I think giving yourself permission to struggle and then also a window of, “If it hasn’t happened by now, it’s not going to happen.” It means that you may not be good at that one thing because you’re better at something else. That window just looks different for each person. My advice to students is that as long as every time you have an opportunity, you’re moving forward, adding some sort of value, and learning some sort of new skill, you’re staying the course. Don’t focus so much on if the opportunity was perfect or successful, or if it was a total failure. Focus more on your growth. Give yourself permission to be in the moment, but that’s also good pushback for realizing not to struggle forever.
What excites you most about being an educator?
What excites you most about being an educator?
The lightbulb moment! When a student is sitting in a chair during office hours and they have the ‘aha!’ moment… Something that didn’t click suddenly does, and the knowledge that you were a little bit of a help of that journey is really great.
Final question – tell me an interesting fact about you that not many people know.
Final question – tell me an interesting fact about you that not many people know.
I make hand-made pottery! I’m an artist -- I’m a biologist by day and potter by night.