Last year I decided to apply to the Kenan Fellows Program because of the possibility of a partnership with the Nature Research Center, where I would have  a scientist as a mentor. How exciting! That’s the reason I applied, that’s what I was looking for with this fellowship, and maybe that is the reason why many other Kenan Fellows applied. It is so important for schools to start creating partnerships, and finding mentor-ships with other professionals out there, willing to contribute to education in NC.

I have learned a lot from my mentor ( Bucky Gates), I have grown as a professional, and as a teacher, and that is why I can say I am so grateful for this fellowship. This is what I was looking for, to keep on moving on my teaching career. This year, as I team-teach with three other teachers, we have found out that the quality of our lessons have gone beyond what we expected. It has been an amazing experience.

And for our students, it has been an amazing experience, as well. They felt so lucky to be able to interact with a real scientist in the classroom, to feel like scientists at work, and to realize how much fun it is to learn this way. It has real meaning for them, and start feeling empowered as students, too.

Now that the partnership is a reality….. I love it, and I know is not only going to be a partnership for one year; it’s going to be for the rest of my teaching career… and I love that.