Throughout my academic career I have worked as a tutor, graduate teaching assistant and associate and lecturer. I started tutoring General and Organic Chemistry while pursuing my Associate’s Degree and continued during my Bachelor’s Degree. I found this a very rewarding experience and found that I enjoyed helping students achieve their goals. I became a Graduate Teaching Assistant when I started graduate school and was quickly promoted to Graduate Teaching Associate, which required more responsibilities than either of my previous experiences. As a Graduate Teaching Associate in the General Chemistry II labs at the University of Central Florida I had twenty-four students in two lab sections each week. In addition to teaching, I worked with the coordinator of the lab to help design and further enhance the labs and continued to try new methods of getting students engaged in the material. As a Graduate Teaching Associate in the Organic Chemistry Lab at UCF I acted as the instructor of record, which allowed me the opportunity to design my own syllabus and lectures, as well as to develop the skills needed to run a class independently of a supervisor. During my last year as a graduate student I was asked to lecture for a General Chemistry II course while a professor was on maternity leave. I was responsible for giving lectures to a class of over 350 students three times a week, administering exams and reporting final grades.
These experiences have solidified my belief in the importance of education in the lives of children and young adults. As a tutor I believe I can help motivate and engage students in chemistry to help produce the intelligent minds we need in our society.