Noyce Scholar Profile
Carolyn Furlong
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: B.S., Adolescence Education Earth Science
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Earth Science, grades 7-12
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Noyce Scholar
Name of Noyce institution:
SUNY Cortland
Current academic or teaching status:
Senior
School and school district:
Field experience-Binghamton HS; Teaching experience-Teaching assistant for Historical Geology at SUNY Cortland
Background:
I am originally from Binghamton, New York and graduated from Binghamton High School in 2008 with an Advanced Regents Diploma. In high school and now in college I like to take advantage of opportunities that the school provides. I am a member of the Geology Club, Ski/Snowboard Club, Cortland Dance Company, and am doing geology research work with Dr. Chris McRoberts. This past summer, I traveled to Shanghai, China on a Study Abroad Trip.
Why do you want to teach:
I have always wanted to teach. When I was young I would teach my stuffed animals and pretend they learned what I was teaching. My mother was a huge influence on me wanting to become a teacher. She is a recently retired second grade teacher, and she would always talk about her experiences teaching. She also wanted me to learn as much as I could and really gave me a passion for the sciences. In high school I took an Integrative Biology Environmental Science class and knew that I wanted to so something with science for the rest of my life. Teaching gives me the opportunity to help others in an area of study I love dearly.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
While I was helping students in the Historical Geology class as a teaching assistant, many students did not understand a lot of the material. After explaining the material to them in different ways, some seemed to catch on. I loved when I saw the “light bulb go on” in some of the students. Although they were my peers, I felt like I was helping them understand difficult topics, and they were benefiting from my knowledge. Being able to pass on knowledge and have others understand it is a key aspect to teaching that I find to be very important within my teaching experiences.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
The Noyce program has allowed me to go to school this year without worrying about loans. Besides the program being a monetary scholarship, it goes further than just providing money to students. Since you have to teach in a high-need school district for two years after graduation, the program checks in on you and wants to see the progress you have made. The Noyce program is unlike many scholarships.
