Noyce Scholar Profile
Andrew Barrow
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: Mathematics
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Secondary Mathematics
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Noyce Scholar
Name of Noyce institution:
California State University San Bernardino
Current academic or teaching status:
Senior
School and school district:
KIng Middle School
Background:
When one door closes another opens up! The company I worked for went out of business (I was a Sales Manager for a boat dealership). This has given me the opportunity to choose a new career that is more rewarding.
Why do you want to teach:
I loved training people in my old job and I love working with kids, so teaching is the best of both worlds for me. I chose math because I feel like this is an area where I can really make a difference. I want to make math fun and interesting for students and hopefully get them as hooked on math as I am.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
I’ve been tutoring math for a couple of years now and I love it. At the community college where I tutor I have a small study room where I tutor one-on-one with students. One day I was in there working when one of my regular students slapped a test she had just taken up on to the glass door to the room. I could see the large “A” in red ink at the top. She was so excited, jumping up and down with a smile as big as the moon. She was failing the class when she came to me, so both of us felt like we accomplished a lot. This experiences has happened numerous times since then with other students and it has made me realize I get a greater feeling of accomplish from my students successes than my own.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
Since the company I worked for went out of business the loss of income has been devastating for my family. I worked in the boat business here in Southern California which has shrunk to near extinction in this recession; there just aren’t any jobs in that business anymore. Meanwhile, the debts are still there. When I went back to school the deal my wife and I made was that we wouldn’t incur any more debt, especially with a sixteen year old daughter that would be starting college soon as well. I went to community college without knowing how I would pay tuition at a university when the time came to transfer. I needed a miracle, and I got one. Noyce has been just that for me. Without the Noyce scholarship I would have had to go back to work after community college doing something other than what I really want to do. Thanks to Noyce I will get the chance to teach and make a positive difference in not only my life, but generations of young mathematical minds!
