Noyce Scholar Profile
Amanda Stein
Undergraduate major or graduate field of study: FSU-Teach: Mathematics
Subject area(s) and grade level teaching focus: Secondary Mathematics
Category of scholarship/fellowship:
Noyce Scholar
Name of Noyce institution:
Florida State University
Current academic or teaching status:
Senior
School and school district:
RAA Middle School in Leon County
Background:
I attended elementary school in Virginia where I was also a Girl Scout and spent a lot of my time volunteering. When my father was transferred to Kings Bay Naval Base and so I attended middle school in Georgia. We later moved to Florida where I attended high school. I was very involved in my high school and spent many hours volunteering my time to the community. I started swimming competitively at the age of ten, which led me to lifeguard and teach swimming at age fifteen. High school swimming regionals in Tallahassee led me to look into Florida State University for college. Since attending FSU I have become very involved in university housing and my major.
Why do you want to teach:
I have taught swimming since I was fifteen. My love for teaching began with that. I want to teach mathematics because I like and understand it. Many of my peers associate mathematics with negative thoughts and/or don’t understand it at all. My hope is to reverse this thought process in my future students. Currently, I would like to return to my hometown (Fernandina Beach, Florida) or Tallahassee to teach after I graduate in December.
Describe a memorable teaching experience:
About two summers ago their was one swimmer whose name was Jagger. He was a red necklace (non-swimmer) so he was enrolled in every swim lesson session that summer. The other swim instructor and I like to teach by using games and being a little silly. Jagger was a quiet child, but he responded to us well. Though he remained quiet he worked very hard and listened to both of us. By the end of the summer, he had progressed to a green necklace (passing the deep end test). Jagger is our greatest success story because both the instructors and the student worked very hard and spent many hours on the material.
What does the Noyce program mean to you:
The Noyce program has served to expand my cultural empathy a little more and to prepare me to help out in an environment that I am not used to (I was not taught in high needs schools). I have enjoyed helping others throughout my life through volunteering and the Noyce program is another way that I can help others who really need it.
