I have not taken the most direct route to the decision to pursue my MAT, and because of this think

I bring a little something different to the mix when it comes to my educational philosophy. After graduating from my undergraduate university of St. awrence in !anton, "# with a $achelors of Science in neuroscience, I was unsure what I wanted to do. I really en%oyed science but did want to become a medical doctor, so I figured why not go into research and applied to &h.'. programs in neuroscience. behold, I got accepted and started a &h.'. in neuroscience program at Stony $rook (niversity. After four years of long hours in the lab and reali)ing that I en%oyed TAing *the part most graduate students complained about the most+, more than I en%oyed being in lab, I decided a career change was the best decision. This experience teaching undergraduates really sparked my interest in becoming a high school teacher. At the undergraduate level, I have taken a wide variety of classes in both the sciences and general education. I was employed and en%oyed being a tutor for !hemistry, $iology, Statistics and Italian. -orking with students at a more personal level showed me the different ways students can learn and how you can change your teaching strategy to accommodate this. At the graduate level, I have taken many biology courses and currently hold a Masters in Science in "euroscience. I have been a TA for five semesters and have taught everything from general biology lab *$io./0, to upper level courses including cell signaling and molecular development of the nervous system. In the lab courses I was the sole teacher and ran my own lab sections. In the lecture courses, I attended lecture but then ran my own weekly review sessions for the students. In all of these courses, I received excellent reviews from both the students and course directors. o and

My experiences teaching at different institutions has shaped how I view education. !oming from upstate "#, and then teaching students in ong Island, has led me to think about the vast disparities that occur in education. I believe that resources in education are not fairly distributed, and in my future classroom I want to do my best to overcome these disadvantages. I believe that students come into the classroom with many life experiences, and being a teacher at a rural school I can take advantage of the prior knowledge of the students to further their education. I also want to take back some of my experiences that I saw students have in more privileged schools and apply them in smaller schools upstate, such as introducing science 1lympiads and mock crime scene games.