The author at ACS Fall 2026.

Excellent science educators can inspire current and future generations … and the path to becoming one may originate from endless starting positions. I’m convinced that the seemingly inefficient path I followed to my teaching career made all the difference for me. My journey — from easy-going undergraduate, to busy graduate researcher, to professional research scientist — provided diverse worthwhile activities and professional experiences that prepared me, more than I’d expected, to become an effective high school teacher.

Education background

As an undergraduate, I studied environmental engineering at the University of Florida. I enjoyed the camaraderie and challenges of this rigorous experience, and through my studies I was exposed to and developed an interest in food science and human nutrition. These interests directed my graduate pathway, where I pursued research in analytical nutrition and agricultural environmental areas.

My master’s degree project included a lot of book and laboratory learning, as I investigated bioflavonoid bioavailability from citrus fruit — i.e., identifying potential benefits of these phytochemicals. My Ph.D. research was laboratory-based but also included field work as I studied the environmental fate of ethylene dibromide (EDB), a very effective, but also highly toxic pesticide. Our challenge was that, against expectations, EDB was leaching into the groundwater, which is Florida’s major source of fresh water.

Out of graduate school, I took my first full-time job in industry R&D at American Cyanamid Agricultural Research in its Environmental Fate Group in Princeton, NJ. Over the next 25 years, I worked at three other mid-sized companies in the agrichemical sector, along with a few contract research labs and startups.

Building competencies

I made the transition to education after 25 years in industry, obtaining training and licensure for high school chemistry and science teaching. I started as a part-time adjunct instructor at both high school and county college levels and eventually moved into a full-time high school teaching position. Though it took me a while to recognize it, both my training and work experience as a professional research scientist had given me many of the skills I needed for my new endeavor as a teacher.

One memorable moment was making it through my first podium presentation at ACS Fall 1985. Leading up to this presentation, I had experienced a major blow to my confidence when my doctoral professor told me, regarding a draft of the abstract I’d be submitting for the conference, “this is a good example of a bad abstract.”

That comment originally knocked me down for a bit … but I learned from it, survived, and eventually submitted a revised abstract that was accepted for the conference. And now here I stood at the podium, facing a packed room of people whom I believed were much smarter and more accomplished than me. I began nervously but then, with growing confidence, presented my talk — which went reasonably well.

Looking back, I was glad to have had a mentor who was willing to guide me. This was a formative experience for me, as it showed me the results of being resilient and open to feedback. Those two qualities proved extremely beneficial when I later transitioned from a research career to educating high school students.

Though my presentation experience is what most persists in my memory of my undergraduate and graduate years, I also benefitted from a variety of programs that provided additional opportunities to embrace academic rigor and discover my academic potential. While I was conducting research studies and developing analytical methods, I didn’t realize I was simultaneously learning not only how to clearly communicate complicated science, but also how to adapt and revise when experiments failed. These skills have helped me to make chemistry both accessible and memorable for my high school students, as I am able to model resilience and flexibility when lessons or laboratory experiments don’t go as planned, and instead, turn them into learning opportunities. I also find that continually iterating lessons and remaining open to feedback helps me to engage with each unique classroom audience, while also helping me to stay fresh with emerging pedagogical techniques.

In addition, during my time leading research groups in industry, I inadvertently gained confidence and social independence. The skills I gained included navigating interpersonal relationships, mastering time management, and leadership (often having formal authority over my group’s efforts). The impact of these lessons became apparent to me years later, while I was adapting to a high school structure and hierarchy that were new to me. My industry experience also helped me better manage my time in a fast-paced school day, where each class period brought different students, dynamics, and often teaching content as well.

As both a new teacher and a new employee, I worked to establish relationships with colleagues and planned how to project myself so students would feel confident about what they were learning. Having begun this endeavor with an already well-developed sense of myself and my capabilities, the transition from industry scientist to high school educator was much easier for me than if I hadn’t previously taken on leadership roles.

Throughout my industry career, I was an active member in my Local Section of the American Chemical Society as well as its national Agrochemicals division. I participated as an elected member of both governance and planning boards. These activities were natural extensions of my scientific and assigned work, and they also gave me additional skills that would later enhance my effectiveness as an educator. Through both my career and volunteer experiences, I learned to work with difficult people, understand organizational dynamics, lead and manage both people and budgets, and communicate through accurate and efficient reporting.

These are all necessary skills when considering how to keep up with lesson planning and pacing, student performance and behavior reporting, differentiation of instruction for various levels of students, and design and management of deadlines for student projects and work. These skills also increased my comfort in networking with other educators, and in both participating in and presenting professional development sessions.

Embracing a teaching career

Figure 1. The author working with a student in the classroom.

In my 10 years as an educator (Figure 1), I have discovered that teaching provides an extraordinary opportunity to contribute to a more literate and capable society, while also allowing for my own individual growth. I call this “enlightened self-interest,” as it requires balancing personal growth with helping with society’s collective welfare and greater good.

My industry experience taught me that maximizing professional growth requires a genuine willingness to evolve. As such, I have been an intent observer in multiple classrooms with a wide spectrum of students, always on the lookout for ways I can improve my students’ experience. I have compiled and practiced effective strategies to keep things fresh, challenging, and engaging for the students and for myself.

I have come a long way since receiving that unforgettable feedback that I had produced “a good example of a bad abstract.” Looking back, the chief lesson from that experience was not that I eventually learned to write good abstracts. The important lesson was that feedback, failure, adaptation, and diverse experiences are all part of what can transform us into excellent educators who can truly inspire the next generation.

There are many paths to becoming a teacher. For anyone considering this career, my suggestions are to lean into challenging work, do not be afraid to fail, find and appreciate good mentors, look for and reflect on feedback, and apply yourself fully to whatever you are currently doing. For career changers, I recommend trying to see your “unrelated” industry experience not as a detour, but rather, as your superpower. Every difficult colleague taught you patience. Every deadline taught you prioritization. Every project failure taught you resilience. These are the exact skills that will make you an exceptional educator!

An excellent science educator can emerge from many diverse backgrounds. If you are drawn to this career, I highly encourage you to pursue it. Educators have the privilege of cultivating the next generation of innovators and problem-solvers who will tackle tomorrow’s challenges and expand the boundaries of human knowledge. It’s awesome to be part of the process!