Heather DeRoy
When Heather DeRoy came to UMass Amherst, what worried her most was fulfilling the science general education requirement. Convinced she had no talent in science whatsoever, she enrolled in professor Mark Leckie's Oceanography class "with dread," she says. She never expected this class would change her life. (Story continued below slideshow.)
Heather knew she wanted to become a teacher, and assumed the subject would be French. With Dr. Leckie's encouraging "yes, you can do it!" Heather came to realize that science offered fascinating discoveries—and she that was up to its challenges. Before Dr. Leckie's class, Heather never had an inspiring science experience, and was convinced she would never be a science person. "Basically, I'm really out of my comfort zone right now. I never thought this would be a path I'd be taken on, so I'm really determined to take it."
Heather, a senior from Gardner, Massachusetts, hopes to use her combined BA in Geology and BS in Psychology to inspire young students to enjoy science. Starting next semester, Heather will work on creating an Earth Science & Geology curriculum for students aged 10-14. The curriculum will be hands-on—another aspect of science education Heather missed out on as a child. "I want kids to get this experience early on," she says, and looks forward to developing experiments that feel more like playtime than homework, like using colored sands to display how rivers are formed and creating volcanoes out of baking soda and Play-Doh.
Heather's deep interest in teaching science led to being selected for the Kathleen and Robert Mahoney Scholarship, which provides funding during the junior and senior year to a female undergraduate who is committed to teaching math or science. As part of this commitment, Heather participated in an independent study that enabled her to work in a local second grade class last semester. "It was really great to get to influence younger children who have a real passion for learning," she says. She worked carefully with a student who was lagging due to problems with ESL (English as a Second Language), and was delighted to see the girl come out of her shell and begin to read.
When she is not in the classroom herself, Heather likes to help students develop their own leadership skills. She is one of UMass Amherst's Apartment Living Advisors after serving last year as a Resident Assistant, and she has also worked as both a peer advisor and an orientation councilor. In addition, she is the president of a new singing group, "Wicked Pitch Acapella."
Post-college, Heather envisions herself pursuing a Masters in middle school science education, and teaching soon after: "Science is more and more important each minute," Heather says, "I just really want to make an impact."
—KA
