I am a rising senior at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. I am majoring in Physics, in the Physics Teacher Education sequence. Too often I’ve seen students who are getting a poor quality education, specifically in STEM subjects, and by becoming a high school physics teacher, I hope that I will be able to help my students see possibilities they might not have before. If I hadn’t a had physics teacher that was willing to go the extra mile to help me develop a deeper understanding and connection to physics, I wouldn’t be on the path I am today without that. I hope to be able to do that for some of my future students. I’m excited to be a part of this program and use this experience to better myself as a future educator and physics student!

Even though my studies keep me pretty busy, I try to stay involved in things outside of the classroom. I’ve been involved with Physics Education Research for three years s. During that s period I have attended several sectional and national meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers. Additionally, I have had the opportunity to make several presentations, and have been a coauthor on two refereed papers on our work. I am also a tutor and undergraduate teaching assistant for many of the general education physics courses offered at Illinois State. I enjoy helping people understand physics. Recently, I received a grant from the American Physical Society to help my university form a Women in Physics group, an endeavor that I am hoping will help more women find interest and belonging in a male-dominated field.