I want my students to remember that sometimes problems or challenges will feel insurmountable at first, but by breaking them into smaller pieces and working together, they can figure out almost anything.
Leah’s Story
Teaching Discipline
Chemistry
Why Chemistry
Chemistry explains so much about the world we live in. I love that chemistry allows me to keep asking why, and going deeper and deeper with my understanding. Chemistry is also intimately linked with environmental justice, and so much of the discipline can be connected with broader movements for social justice.
Professional Experience
Leah is a second career teacher. She got her first taste of teaching when she worked for the Harpswell Foundation teaching English and Critical Thinking/discussion in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The Harpswell Foundation is dedicated to providing higher education to young women who otherwise would not have access to it. Leah provided both one-on-one English tutoring and weekly support for critical thinking discussions on current events.
While getting her degrees in Chemistry and Sociology, Leah also became a Chemistry teaching assistant at Bowdoin. Following college, Leah worked with SOS Brooklyn to take a harm reduction approach to reducing shootings and killings in Central Brooklyn. While there, Leah worked with young people who were at high-risk of being involved in shootings, and helped to plan shooting responses and community events centered around anti-violence. At SOS Brooklyn, Leah realized that she wanted to continue working with young people, helping them build a better world, but also really missed working in science. She realized she could do both, by becoming a science teacher.
Leah will start her second year of teaching Chemistry at Haldane High School, Philipstown New York in the 2024-2025 school year.
Hobbies
In her free time, Leah enjoys running and sewing. Though not at the same time!
Academic Background
- Bowdoin College (Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry and Sociology)
- SUNY New Paltz (M.A.T. Chemistry)
- SUNY Brockport (MSEd Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)