Q: Did you become the new AP Biology teacher out of a want or necessity?

A: A little bit of both. I stepped up when nobody else would.

Q: Why did you want that position?

A: I love biology. I really do. There’s always more to learn. If somebody has a question that I don’t know the answer to, we will figure it out together. 

Q: What don’t you like about this class?

A: The rigor, for both me and the students. It’s just ten times more complex than freshman biology. 

Q: What do you like?

A: I like seeing students make those complex connections. I like how it’s more of a conversation between me and the students rather than me just talking at them. They learn as much as I do, as bad as that sounds. 

Q: Did you take this class as a student? 

A: I didn’t. The way I grew up, like, my family really didn’t value education. Yeah, you had to go to school, but there was no push to do better.

Q: Why not?

A: My dad is first generation American, his mother was from Germany. His upbringing was just surviving, making money, and getting a job. There was no real value for higher education.

Q: What was the value? 

A: Honestly, I really don’t know. I’m still trying to figure that out.

By Madeline Tredway, Staff Writer