Noyce Scholar Profile
Khalila Sailor
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: Biology
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Biology, grades 6-8
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Fifth year or post-baccalaureate Noyce scholar
Name of Noyce institution:
University of La Verne
Current academic or teaching status:
Junior
School and school district:
Romberg Tiburon Center
Background:
I am currently a student at the University of La Verne pursuing a degree in Biology with a concentration in teaching. I am in the process of completing my senior project, Creating a Better America through Active Learning, at two junior high schools in the Upland Unified School District.
Why do you want to teach:
I want to teach because as a teacher I believe that I can make a real difference in the lives of others. I am passionate about science and want to share that passion with others, in an effort to make science relevant to their lives.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
I recently had my first taste of what teaching at a junior high might actually be like. I prepared a lesson on mitosis and presented it to a 7th grade class, at two different schools. No two classes were the same in their response to the lesson. What stood out most for me was that part of the presentation included a a popular song reworded to explain the phases of mitosis. The kids loved it, and most of them were singing the song as they left the class.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
I heard about the Noyce Scholarship while I was still a student at a junior college. My goal at the time was to be admitted to a school that offered the scholarship and then to apply. It took me two years to attain that goal. For me that signified the first step to realizing my goal of becoming a science teacher. It meant validation of a dream.
