People

Each day in his Biology classes, students find out something new about Dr. Andy Gerhart. Whether it be him sharing a story about his adventurous free diving experiences, his challenging Ph.D. and seminary programs, or his year abroad in South Africa, Dr. Gerhart never fails to impress his students with his extraordinary knowledge and life experiences. 

Growing up, Gerhart was always interested in Biology. As an Austin native, he credits much of his attraction to Biology to the nature and wildlife he was surrounded by. Additionally, Gerhart attended the first birdwatching camps that were available for kids in Austin. Gerhart says, “How do you grow up in Austin and not have an interest in nature? If your eyes are open, there’s as much abundant nature here as there is anywhere, which always stimulated my interest.” 

When transitioning from middle school to high school, Gerhart moved to Colorado where he attended Heritage High School in Littleton, Colorado. He played on the Varsity soccer team from his sophomore to his senior year and took numerous AP classes, including AP Biology. When reflecting on his high school experience, Gerhart says, “I was just trying to find out what I wanted to do. There were a lot of pressures, and I was always pushing back because I didn’t want anyone to decide what I was supposed to do.”

Gerhart attended Colorado College where he began his degree as an English major, however, at the time he was unsure about what career he wanted to pursue. After completing his sophomore year, Gerhart chose to take a gap year where he taught Biology and English as a Second Language in South Africa. After his year abroad, he came back to Colorado College and decided to change his major to Environmental Science. When thinking back on his time in college, Gerhart says, “I had this idea that you learn more from your peers than you do from your teachers, which is true, but you learn more from yourself than you learn from either. That’s what college ultimately taught me.”

After obtaining his degree, Gerhart worked numerous jobs before making the jump to teach freshmen Biology and AP Biology at St. Andrew’s. One of Gerhart’s first major jobs was when he was working for the National Marine Fisheries Service in Dutch Harbour, Alaska and Long Beach, California. Next, he worked on Catalina Island and taught marine science to 4th to 12th-grade students. Additionally, Gerhart got into freediving, a type of diving that is extremely dangerous and must be done with a partner. Gerhart says, “[Catalina Island] is where I fell in love with teaching.” He thought about wanting to go back and teach at Colorado College and decided to obtain a Ph.D. to give himself the opportunity to do so. 

Gerhart was accepted into the Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources at Stanford University, under which he studied Environmental History. During this grueling 9-year Ph.D. track, Gerhart spent a couple of years researching salmon fisheries in Chile while additionally learning Spanish. Gerhart decided to move back to Austin while completing his Ph.D., and furthermore decided to attend seminary. Gerhart says, “I went to seminary school and did a Master of Divinity, which is a 3-year degree that is the hardest thing on the planet, and harder than my Ph.D. at Stanford.” Gerhart thought about becoming a minister, but realized his love for chaplaincy in seminary. During the pandemic in 2020, he worked as a Chaplain at Seton Hospital. This past summer, Gerhart heard about the job openings at St. Andrew’s from his old friend Ms. Jennifer Tollefson, who inspired him to apply for the position as a Biology teacher.

Gerhart has big aspirations for the future of Biology, AP Biology, and the Science department at St. Andrew’s. Gerhart says his short-term goal for Biology and AP Biology is to make the content more relevant to students. He explains that these classes are often taught with a lot of memorization, which he hopes to change to a more infused learning environment. Most days, Gerhart will start class with a news story, which will inform students about the relevancy of Biology while connecting it to the current topic being learned. Gerhart says his long-term goal for Biology and AP Biology is to teach the class in ways where students aren’t in the classroom. He explains how his experience at Colorado College changed his perspective on learning, which allowed him to realize how important real-life applications are when it comes to education. Gerhart says, “With Biology, on a giant campus like we have with this incredible land, it seems like there’s no end in sight with what you could conceive of doing."