From a young age, I have always loved to learn. During high school, I acquired a passion for math & physics because of their objective utility in figuring out answers to quantitative problems. This led me to pursue a Bachelor's of Science in physics teacher education at Illinois State University (ISU) with a minor in mathematics. During my coursework, I realized that I liked these fields so much that I couldn't see myself teaching high school physics immediately after graduating. As a result, I switched to a pure physics degree and recently graduated in May 2019. I am going back to ISU to pursue a Master's of Science in biomathematics this August.
Throughout my career as an undergraduate, I worked several jobs as a tutor and as a teaching assistant for various math & physics courses. These experiences made me appreciate my teachers that much more, because I figured out just how difficult teaching these technical subjects can be. With practice, I developed a knack for it. I now love teaching because of how rewarding it can be to successfully guide somebody through a challenging concept.
I believe that a successful teacher is somebody who can provide their students with the necessary resources and skills to pursue interest in a field independently. In other words, teachers should try to work themselves out of a job! In addition, teachers should not only be well-positioned to answer their students' questions, but ask their own thoughtful questions for the student to answer and develop their own self-sufficiency. In this way, a class feels more like a constructive dialogue than one person talking at the other.
Some of my interests outside of academia include camping, playing the piano, reading, weightlifting, slacklining, watching movies, playing video games, and listening to music.