Noyce Scholar Profile
Stephanie Driskill
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: Mathematics
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Mathematics and middle school
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Noyce Scholar
Name of Noyce institution:
CSUSB Noyce
Current academic or teaching status:
Junior
School and school district:
King Middle School doing student teaching
Background:
I am a mother of 4 children that I stayed home to raise and then decided to return to school. I have always had a love for Math and teaching so it just seemed natural to earn my single subject credential in Mathematics. I graduated from San Bernardino High School. I attended San Bernardino Valley College and then transferred to CSUSB. I think that my time at the junior college helped to solidify my dream of becoming a teacher.
Why do you want to teach:
I want to teach ever since I was a little girl. Instead of playing house or hopscotch, I would line up my stuffed animals and play school. I would give them spelling tests and math problems. I can still see the animals lined up on my porch swing and at the picnic table waiting for me to get home from school to play school. I think it is important that teachers care about their students and try to connect to the students as well as the parents. I have learned from my own experience that parental involvement is a key to a child’s success and this is what I hope to impress on the parents of my future students. i want to be able to help our future generations to succeed.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
The most memorable teaching experience that I have experienced took place at Valley College when I was tutoring a blind gentleman in Math. To me, Math is a very visual subject and it was a challenge to be able to tutor this young man in such a way that math came to life for him. After our second tutoring session he informed me that he understood and could picture what I was helping him with and that I was the forst person to bring Math to life for him. This is what truly confirmed that I was meant to teach Math and it was a very triumphant moment for my student. He went on the pass his Math class with an A, which was something he was never able to do before and graduated from Valley a few years later after completing the math classes for his degree.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
“The Noyce program has meant a lot to me in that it has given me the opportunity to be in a classroom on the first day of class and to learn how the class changes from day 1 to day 180. I have met many people who are a blessing in my life as they have supported me when I was ready to give up. I have found that the teachers and other students in the program are there to ensure that our future teachers are confident and able to take on their own class and to be successful at it. Davida Fischman has been a wonderful mentor and guide while working the program and I think it is her hard work and success that is a driving force in our Noyce program at CSUSB.
