Noyce Scholar Profile
Emily Bast
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: Mathematics major, Education minor
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Integrated Math, 7-12
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Noyce Scholar
Name of Noyce institution:
Wittenberg University
Current academic or teaching status:
Junior (2013)
School and school district:
N/A
Background:
I’m from Knoxville, TN which surprises most people because of my lack of a southern accent. At Witt, I’m a community service coordinator in the Hagen Center, I’m involved in Habitat for Humanity and Greek life, and I’m a Young Life leader at Tecumseh High School.
Why do you want to teach:
I was fortunate enough to have teachers in high school who challenged me daily, and in doing so made a huge impact on my life. My teachers not only taught their respective subjects but headed various extracurricular activities, conversed with students outside of class, and genuinely cared about not only their students’ academic success but cared about their personal lives as well. Their impact on me was incredible, and it’s not something I can fully describe. I want to teach because I hope to have this same impact on my future students. I want to help them develop critical thinking skills that will benefit them for the rest of their lives, to help them build confidence inside and outside of the classroom, and to see them accomplish goals they never believed they could reach.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
During my senior year of high school I was a teaching assistant in a freshmen honors chemistry class. At the beginning of the semester, none of the students felt comfortable seeking me out to ask questions. When they worked on homework during class I would walk around to see if any of them needed help; slowly, as I made it clear that I was there for them and wanted to help them, they began to open up and feel comfortable around me. I graded their papers, answered their questions, and helped them during labs. Having the opportunity to do all of this and begin to form relationships with the students really affirmed my desire to teach. It showed me the importance of forming bonds with students in order to best help them learn.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
To me, the Noyce program means that I have a unique opportunity to grow as a future educator in a community of collaboration with my peers and with professionals in the field. It means that others see the importance of a good education and recognize that no students should be prevented from receiving one; it means that I get to be a part of solving this problem.
