Change happens best when it begins in a strong community. Teachers are agents of change within a community. I believe that a teacher’s role is not just to teach their content, but to help students develop agency and self-advocacy. This work is not done alone, and therefore a teacher’s role also must extend into community membership.”
Amber’s Story
Teaching Discipline
Biology
Why Biology
“Ever since taking a biology course my first year of high school, I have found the subject so engaging. Learning biology instantly made me an extremely curious person—wondering about how I was able to move, what happens when I eat, or why I sometimes feel sick. I find the small-scale mechanisms behind these questions fascinating, and quickly latched on to the idea that if we understand how something is supposed to work, we can begin to develop theories about how it might go wrong.”
Professional Experience
In 2017, Amber spent a summer studying multiple sclerosis in an immunology lab at Northwestern University’s medical school. She also spent summer 2018 teaching high school biology in Hong Kong with a summer school program called Summerbridge.
In 2019, Amber worked as a classroom aide at Lincolnwood Elementary School, where she facilitated classroom discussion and worked to differentiate math and reading instruction.
Amber will begin teaching during the 2020–2021 school year.
Volunteer Experience
In 2018, Amber volunteered as an after school tutor in Freiburg, Germany, while studying abroad for a semester. She worked at a refugee center, tutoring English to a class of about 15 students who had recently immigrated to Germany from Syria.
Amber serves as a leader for Young Life, a youth organization where she has mentored students for five years. In this role, she builds relationships with students and facilitates weekly group meetings with 10–30 high school students.
Amber also serves as a minister at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center through an organization called Precious Blood Ministry. Over the last two years, she has worked to build positive relationships with students, discussing topics of self-understanding, faith, and action plans in moving forward.
Hobbies
Amber enjoys writing creative nonfiction, creating zines (or short magazines), traveling, and hiking.
Academic Background
- Northwestern University (Master of Science in Education and Social Policy)
- Northwestern University (Bachelor of Arts in Biological Science and German)