I decided to become a teacher because science fascinates me. Teaching biology is an intersection of my passions and my skills.”
Sarah’s Story
As an undergraduate at Stanford University, Sarah Hawthorne spent four years mentoring children at a local Boys & Girls Club. With the aid of her college’s Science in Service program, she used hands-on experiments to introduce the club’s young students to difficult scientific concepts. Her hope is for all children to enjoy and consider careers in science. “I want to help students realize that science is not a distant entity; scientists are real people. I want my students to see themselves in science, no matter their race, gender or background. This is especially important for the young girls who haven’t been raised to know that they can pursue a science-oriented career.”
Sarah looks forward to helping students from immigrant families find a way to thrive and be successful. “I believe that for a student to have a good learning environment, it must extend outside of the school. I plan to work hard to make science relevant to my students’ lives beyond the classroom.”
Sarah graduated from the Louisville Collegiate School, and earned a BS in biological sciences with honors in ecology and evolution from Stanford University. She has participated in various lab and field research programs at Stanford, including a summer at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory studying butterflies. In her spare time, she leads hikes and teaches ecology at the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve.
Knowles Academy Courses Taught
Designing Instructional Tasks to Increase Student Engagement and Learning in Science