AACT Member Spotlight: Amiee Modic



Every month AACT spotlights a passionate member who is dedicated to enhancing chemistry inside and outside the classroom. This month, we spotlight Amiee Modic. She is the 2025–2026 AACT Governing Board President and a chemistry teacher at Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart in Houston, Texas.

Tell us about yourself.

I just started my 42nd year of teaching and am a self-professed nerd who loves chemistry, reading, baking, and doing things outside. Gardening, golf, and sailing are my big outdoor adventures and there is nothing like a fun Hobie regatta to soothe your soul over a weekend - water, wind, waves, and time with fun people. Time with fun people keeps me coming back to chemistry conferences as well, where I get to hang with my chemistry peeps and learn cool new chemistry things. In addition to fun people, I love fun chemistry jokes and science accessories and clothes. I don't have as many science clothes as some chemistry people, but I probably make up for it in accessories - earrings, necklaces, shoes, scarves, etc. My husband is a flying nerd, so we talk science together, he's teaching me to fly, and we enjoy time with our yellow lab, Buddy. Of course he's a lab - what kind of dog did the chemist have? A Laboratory Retriever!

What topic do you find the hardest for students? How do you teach it?

For my chemistry 1 students I think stoichiometry can be challenging. The thing is, I love it, so I am passionate about it and the kids pick up on that. I also have naturally developed a method of what Jane Smith calls "Steppin' Up to Stoichiometry." We learn little bits and pieces, that we constantly use, that allows us to just add the mole ratio as the new thing by the time we get to actual stoichiometry. We have already learned mole conversions through hands on activities and practice problems, we have already written and balanced equations - again with some sort of hands-on practice, and so when stoichiometry comes around it is almost a natural transition.

Why did you become involved with AACT? What are the benefits of being involved?

Oh my goodness, what chemistry teacher wouldn't want to be a part of an organization that is for teachers, by teachers? I was a part of some of the original discussions about how to set up AACT, as I was the president of the Associated Chemistry Teachers of Texas at the time, and the committee was gathering information from state-run groups as a part of the planning. I was so excited about the possibility of a national organization! In the Greater Houston Section of ACS we have a few individuals who we call "pushers." These people encourage others to get involved and stretch their reach in the various aspects of chemistry and volunteering. I was encourage to become more than just an active member by our local pushers. It turns out, that being involved makes the organization better for you, because you get to know more people and have a say; and for others because we all meet new friends. It's like having 7000 new chemistry friends. Well, maybe not that many, but you get to meet new chemistry people from all over, which broadens your perspective!

Share some words of wisdom to other chemists.

1. Go early or stay late - don't do both or you will run out of energy.
2. Stay true to yourself - students will know if you are being authentic or affected, and they prefer and respond to authenticity.
3. Don't be afraid to try new pedagogies - if we are not trying new things, we are not progressing and maturing as educators. You don't have to be bound to the new things if they don't work for you, but give them a try as it could change your life.
4. Be confident in knowing that there is rarely such a thing as an original idea, just your original perspective. Borrow ideas and make them your own.

In three words, what would your students say they learned from you??

I hope they say passion, curiousity, and chemistry is everywhere.