How would you finish the following sentence: being an instructor at Trinity means…

Getting to share my passion for Chemistry while helping my students blaze their own paths in life. As an instructor, I have the opportunity to teach both lecture and laboratory courses, where I try to be a mentor in our wonderful community of learners.

Students often praise you not only for being a great lecturer but also for being very patient with them. You give your students confidence to approach their learning for a difficult subject such as chemistry. Have there been any lessons learned from your personal education that you try to bring to your classroom?

Patience with the subject and patience with yourself. Chemistry is a subject I love and have a strong appreciation for. I learned early on that just because you love something does not mean that it comes easily for you. As a student, I spent hours upon hours studying and preparing for my courses. I learned that with strong study habits and an organized calendar, success is possible. My students often hear me recommending they add daily studying of Chemistry into their weekly schedules. By putting it in their calendar, it can become a regular routine, more than just when an exam is coming up. I always strive to be the type of faculty member who I could have benefitted from when visiting office hours during my time as an undergrad.

Since you lecture students from their first arrival at Trinity, in Introduction to Chemistry, to when they are seniors and about to leave the university, in Chemistry Seminar, you must have a great sense of what a Trinity student is like and how their education shapes them. What would you say are the top strengths pertinent to all Trinity Students from first-years to seniors? and how do you see students change and approach learning differently once they come close to completing their degree?

Having had the opportunity to teach Trinity students of all levels, I’ve seen that consistently a Trinity Tiger has perseverance, intellectual curiosity and dedication to their academics. As students come closer to completing their degrees, I still see many of the same strengths as when they began their collegiate career, but often times an increase in critical thinking and problem solving due to maturity and growth as a person. During their time at Trinity, they’ve been exposed to more aspects of Chemistry (as well as other ideas and subjects) and they’ve advanced in their ability to draw connections, which I see as beneficial not just in a future career but in life.

What prompted you to join the Collaborative’s Tigers as Partners program? What are you hoping to learn from your student-partner this semester?

After teaching at Trinity for a few years, I have become comfortable in the classroom. However, I do not want to become complacent in my teaching practices. I decided to participate in the Tigers as Partners program to gain the perspective of a Trinity student, an outside perspective from a seasoned student and one who is not taking the course to fulfill a degree requirement. By participating, I hope to reflect on my teaching practices and continue to improve as a lecturer. Plus, due to COVID, I appreciate having feedback on the online teaching format, which is a new endeavor for me.