Page 40 - Priorities #61 2015-April/May

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Start volunteering now. If you are interested in science as a career, you need to experience science outside of a textbook.
Community
Together we find strength and purpose in supporting one another. I see this every day at the Priory in our students’ interactions with each other and the way our faculty support our students.
I think some of my greatest contributions to the Priory are in supporting students who struggleinsciencetobelieveinthemselvesandtheirabilities. Helpingstudentsachievethe “aha moment” in which they suddenly understand a complex idea is exciting, however help- ing the student believe in themselves when they have self-doubt is even more rewarding, as it can be life-changing. I aspire to help students to believe in themselves and want to foster their curiosity and wonder in the natural world.
Which Benedictine value do you most identify with and why?
Integrity. I think integrity is a cornerstone of human development.
What advice do you have for students who are curious about pursuing a career in Science?
Start volunteering now. If you are interested in science as a career, you need to experience sci- ence outside of a textbook. Volunteer in a research lab, take an in-depth, hands-on lab course, intern at a zoo, aquarium, or museum, join a club, go to free lectures at the library – whatever you do – get involved. Come to Priory’s Science Friday lecture series bimonthly to learn from Bay Area scientists about cutting-edge research and their career paths. Once you volunteer and learn more about careers in science, you will be inspired to do the hard work required in science courses at the college level and beyond to enable you to work in the field.
What is your earliest memory when you first became interested in science? (or how did you become interested in pursuing science as a career as well as teaching?)
I became interested in science from spending time with my father, who is a retired surgeon. I spent many Saturday mornings at his office playing with simple medical tools and specimens in jars, while he made rounds (visited patients) in the hospital. I was also very curious about nature. My father is physically handicapped, so we were not able to go outside and play when I was a child. Instead, he would invite me to watch nature programs with him on television to bond. We would learn together and be virtually transported to foreign countries while watch- ing National Geographic programs about ecosystems, animals, and the natural world. I was amazed and inspired to learn more about nature and the living world around me.
What do you find most fascinating about the field of science?
“Always we begin again”, our Benedictine motto, could also be thought of as the foundation of the scientific method. Problem-solving and critical thinking are skills that reach far beyond science as a discipline and relate to all aspects of life. I think these are life-long skills that can help a student become more self-confident and self-aware in their daily interactions. Resiliency, the ability to cope with, adapt to and overcome challenges, is intrinsic in the scientific method and essential in life.
I am fascinated with the breadth and depth of scientific knowledge, and the fact that it is ever expanding. I am also absolutely in AWE of the beauty and power of nature. I constantly want to understand more of how and why.