One of the joys of teaching science is the fact that it is so pervasive. Examples abound, and the abstraction of theory can be made real to students through carefully designed and contextually relevant experiences.”

Geoffrey’s Story

Geoffrey Gailey discovered his twin love of science and teaching while still in high school when he worked as an ecology and conservation instructor at a summer camp. Geoffrey earned his BS in biological sciences and his teaching certificate from Cornell University. During college he worked as a research assistant at various campus labs. He also volunteered at Ithaca High School and other area schools and community centers. Geoffrey minored in education and began working on a graduate degree in teaching in his senior year. “I love biology because it is so fascinating and teachable. I enjoy teaching because through it, I get to share my love of and excitement for the natural world.”

As an undergraduate, Geoffrey was on Cornell’s Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean’s List and a Howard Hughes Biological Science Summer Scholar. He has long volunteered as an interpretive guide at Ithaca’s Cayuga Nature Center. In Geoffrey’s varied adventures as a biologist, he has fed a pill to an ill hawk; managed a butterfly garden; been stalked by a puma, grizzly bears and rattlesnakes; found dinosaur fossils; photographed rare birds; and seen the fallout of a meteor impact.