Noyce Scholar Profile

Cole Basar
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: Earth & Space Science (Secondary Education)
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Earth & Space Science, grades 6-8
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Noyce Scholar
Name of Noyce institution:
Arizona State University STARR Program
Current academic or teaching status:
Senior
School and school district:
Internship, Tempe Preparatory Academy
Background:
Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, I am a proud student of Arizona State University. This is my second semester in the Professional Teacher’s Preparation Program, and I am excited to start my new internship. I only have a year of experience teaching, however, I have learned a tremendous amount in my short time in the program.
Why do you want to teach:
From the end of my high school career up until just last summer, I had been vigorously searching for both a passion and a purpose going into my future. Fortunately, the answer came in the form of deciding my major, Secondary Education: Space and Earth Science. From elementary school to the present, I have been involved with many talented, spectacular, and extraordinary people, both fellow students and especially teachers, who have had a strong and positive impact on me as a learner and, more importantly, as a person. I have been blessed to have had all these people in my life, and it is for this reason that I decided to make teaching my career. I feel strongly that I have what it takes to inspire, support, and enlighten my future students in the same exceptional ways that my teachers have done for me. It is my goal as a future science teacher to do whatever it takes to offer the best support, encouragement, and information to all of my students. Since I was young, I have always been emphatically intrigued by science and all it has to offer. I plan on sharing this passion with my future students to invoke in them the same fascination, as well as the highest levels of learning.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
My most memorable teaching experience took place in the first class I taught at Whittier Elementary. I spent three days teaching fifth graders the same lesson, increasing the difficulty of material each day. A particular student was extremely interested and enthusiastic throughout the lessons. By the last one, the teacher came up to me and explained that she had never seen this particular student so involved. He had never talked or participated. I was moved to know that I was a catalyst for his new found enthusiasm.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
The Noyce program has truly been a blessing for me and my family. Not only has it allowed me to continue my education, but it has also created an environment that will allow me to succeed and grow to be the best educator possible.