Renewed passion by Jason

Renewed passion by Jason - December 2015 Scholarship Essay

Ten years ago, I saw myself focusing on my passion for field ecology in college and becoming a wildlife biologist. I did just that. For four years, I worked as a wildlife biologist and project manager on native habitat restoration projects on military bases, mostly in San Diego County. I enjoyed the work very much, but was frustrated by my inability to move forward. My entry-level job at the San Diego State University Research Foundation was meant to be a foundation for future employment with a private company, but nobody would hire me because I could not drive. I had a seizure disorder that prevented me from getting a license, and the frustration began to build after repeatedly being turned down.

I started thinking about career changes I could make, something that would be more compatible with transportation limitations. Then, a successful math tutor who had clients asking for help in science asked if I would be interested. I took on the challenge, dusted off my textbooks, and dove into private tutoring. I started getting more skilled and re-discovering abilities that go back to elementary school, when a teacher first asked me to help a struggling classmate. The work was very satisfying, and for some of the same reasons I saw my field ecology work attractive. Both are continuously evolving processes, but I found cultivating students’ skills more rewarding than cultivating the plants in native habitat restoration.

The remarkable part of this story came two years ago, when after weighing the benefits and risks, I decided to have brain surgery to remove the irregular portions that were causing my seizures. The procedure was an amygdalohippocampectomy. In September 2013, my left amygdala and hippocampus, and the front 4 cm of my left temporal lobe, were removed. That surgery has been a remarkable success. I have had no seizures since and stopped taking medication. I was finally able to earn a driver’s license, and my tutoring business simultaneously elevated to levels I could not have attained when I was limited to transportation by bicycle. That motivated me to elevate my interest in education from a job to a career, and I decided to pursue a teaching credential in biology.

Now I am about halfway through the teaching credential program at California State University, Fullerton. It is time to forecast the future. One of the advantages that I have which can lead to classroom content is my work experience designing experiments and conducting research. Ten years from now, I see myself continuing to make use of this field experience. However, that experience applies only to a section of the biology course. In July 2015, I attended the Better Together California Teachers Summit. There I talked with a veteran teacher who told me about options for conducting research through programs that meet during the summer. One such program that I am applying for is the STAR research experience program for aspiring K-12 STEM teachers. It will help me to bring better teaching and learning processes into the classroom by embedding me in real research laboratories. My previous passion was ecology, but I want to pass on passion that I develop about other biology topics as well. I know being not just a good teacher but a great teacher means continuing to look for new additions and improvements to the classroom. I aspire to always find ambition to continue developing passions that I can pass along to my students.

My education will help me get to the point where I can pass on my passion for science to students. I have learned several instructional methods that will facilitate this. Inquiry, argumentation, negotiation of expository text, and modeling are four teaching methods I have executed that allow students to truly do science. In ten years, I will most certainly continue to apply these methods. What I cannot be certain about are the changes there will be in technology. There is little doubt that digital technology will be more fully integrated into the classroom, most likely in ways that I can hardly imagine. I am prepared to fully incorporate today’s technology into my classroom. I have made websites for the unit plans in my future classroom that display digital tools to students and allow them to communicate with me readily. This will be an ongoing process as well, and I see it fit to enroll in future summer school classes at a junior college to update my technology skills so I can meet the needs of students, who set the trends for digital communication.

Education developed my passion, made me a true scientist who can model my experience for students, and continues to inspire me to adapt to the individual needs of students. I plan to pass along my story of triumph to students and inspire them to be great. In ten years, I hope to hear from students who may or may not go into science, but left my class with an appreciation that they applied to something they became passionate about.