Educational Electricity by Shiloh

Educational Electricity by Shiloh - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

In my mind's eye, I can see the crowd of teachers and professors that I've loved during my school years. I see them kindly explaining, passionately demonstrating, and grinning widely when a student understands a concept. One of my instructors, however, stands out from the rest: Professor Betty Young, a physics professor at Santa Clara University.

Her passion for physics and teaching shone clearly in every lecture. Rather than remaining in the realm of the theoretical, she tried to find a demonstration for every topic. Once, while the class was learning about equipotential lines in an electric field, she brought in a Van de Graaf generator and a fluorescent light tube. The tube lit up when pointed at the generator, as the ends were at different electric potentials, causing a voltage across the tube. Unfortunately, Professor Young's sandals did not insulate her sufficiently, and she received a mild yet painful shock every time the tube was lit. This did not deter her from excitedly repeating the demonstration until everyone in the crowded lecture hall understood the physics behind it.

She enjoyed teaching physics labs as well, committed to helping students practice hands-on experimentation. In every lab, she patiently helped each group set up the equipment, and ensured that everyone was safe.

Professor Young also helped her students to be aware of the applications of physics, and how they fit into the greater sphere of physics. Each week, we were assigned to write a paragraph summarizing a scientific paper or technical article about a physics-related topic; sometimes we were required to write about something related to what we had recently learned, but more often we were given free rein over the entirety of physics.

Rather than learning in a vacuum, she showed us how to apply what we had learned, to fit it into what else was known about physics, and to use it in the laboratory. Her passion and flair for teaching were truly impactful upon all of her students. The most important lesson that I learned from Professor Young was the vital importance of science in understanding how our world works.