The KFPD Summer Institute lived up to the promise of leaving the 2019-2020 Kenan Fellows #tiredandinspired! The hours were long but filled with new ideas that I plan to take back to my classroom. I am setting as a personal goal the incorporation of more apps and social media into the pedagogical strategies, approaches, and assessment tools utilized during instruction. I also hope to live my brand as an educator to help my students take ownership of the knowledge that I share with them whether they are in my Chemistry, Introduction to Biotechnology, or Biology 111/112 classes.

The professional development experience was longer, more intensive, and built a more authentic sense of community than any previous PD experiences in which I have participated. Overall, I look forward to completing my internship with my mentor, Lori Ray, at Eaton over the next few weeks and moving on to create a project-based learning (PBL) module that will engage and expand opportunities for my students.

The highlight of the summer institute was the trip to Judaculla Rock and the scavenger hunt!  My team consisting of Caroline Olson, Sheronica Sharp, Rebecca Bozkurt, and Nicole Emmert exemplify the value of PD teambuilding. We rose to the extreme challenge to complete 64 of the 66 tasks set for us over the course of the day at NCCAT, Judaculla Rock, and the trip to the river. We had fun, learned new things, played to each others’ strengths and by the end of the day accrued 8265 points!! This was enough to land us in 1st place!