Susan Pike

Tell us why you became a teacher

I was a research scientist, and while I loved that work and felt it was important, I discovered that, for me, teaching is where I felt I could make a real difference in the world. Not only can I share my passion for science, I also can be there for my students when they are struggling and when they are celebrating accomplishments. Finally, selfishly , being around high school students keeps me young and gives me hope for the future.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

One of my favorite classes to teach is a general biology class that is populated with students who dislike school & oftentimes have very difficult lives. Getting them to care about what we are doing is difficult. We were doing a unit on ecology and I had to force everyone to go outside to do a stream survey. This one girl who was very withdrawn, was doing some halfhearted sweeps with her net and caught an eel and was so excited. I saw joy in her for the first time. I will never forget that!

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would definitely upgrade quite a bit of the equipment in my classroom. But of course, I would spend some on myself as well…. Perhaps travel to the Arctic to see the ice before it disappears. and bring back what I learn to my classes.