Antony Akura Okumu-Personal Statement
I hold a Masters degree in chemistry from Youngstown State University, and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from The Ohio State University.
I have been working as a teaching assistant since 2008 when I was a Masters of Chemistry student at Youngstown State University. That was my first experience teaching at a university and it came with many challenges in terms of presenting the material to students. I learned very quickly the importance of listening to the students view about my teaching style and learned to adapt my teaching based on their needs. From the experience I had, I appreciated the importance of using practice problems as the best way to help students to better understand the material.
I moved on for PhD studies at The Ohio State University where I had a lot more interactions with students. At Ohio State I worked as a teaching assistant, and later on after graduating in Spring 2016, I was appointed as staff teaching assistant and Lecturer. Over the years I have continually believed that the best teaching environment involves an active participation of both students and instructor. I have always emphasized the need for students to read the material ahead of time to make it easier for an interactive session during class.
In the end, it is the strong interest that a student has in a subject that determines how successful they will be. I believe in making a strong case in a subject to make it attractive to the students. I enjoy teaching Organic chemistry, and currently I am involved in research in this area of chemistry.