Katie was one of the outstanding participants in the UTeach program, which enables students to gain a teaching certificate while earning a bachelor’s degree in math and science. She says she was surrounded in UTeach by “women who were really good at math and science.” Gender prejudice was not something she encountered as a student herself, she says, because she had teachers who valued women in science and there were “tons of really bright women” in her classes.

Her interest in biology began developing in high school in Houston. “I was really fascinated by human genetics, which inspired my interest. The heredity aspect was fascinating, how traits are passed along through our genes. Genetics uses a lot of math and I was probably pretty good at that as well, so it was a good fit.”

In fact, it was such a good fit that she received University Honors during each of her nine semesters at the University of Texas at Austin and she was selected to be the speaker at the commencement ceremony for graduates of the College of Natural Sciences.

Katie credits her parents with raising her to believe she could do whatever she wanted to do – in addition to her academic achievements, she lettered as a swimmer in high school and worked on the rowing team at the University of Texas at Austin. These days she is concentrating on running and has been training 40 to 60 miles a week in preparation for the Boston Marathon on April 21.

Teaching science is her primary passion and she says the UTeach program helped her find the perfect niche for her talents. She had entered UT Austin as a business major and considered a career in accounting, but was drawn more to idea of teaching Spanish or the biology that fascinated her in high school. When she approached to the School of Education, they recommended the UTeach program to build on her strengths in math and science.

“Teaching is like a calling. If you think you would like it, UTeach is a great way to give it a try,” she says. “One of the really great aspects is you get to go into the classroom the first semester, so you don’t waste any time taking courses you might not end up needing. They try to get you out in the classroom right away. You have the support of the master teachers, so you don’t feel like you’re alone. They work closely with you on planning your lessons before you go out and then they come out and observe and give you feedback that is really helpful.”

Katie learned from her practice teaching that she enjoyed teaching middle school more than high school. Today she teaches seventh graders at Henry Middle School in Leander, Texas, an area just north of Austin. “The seventh graders are a lot of fun, I enjoy the age,” she says. “I think they are old enough to be independent and responsible, but young enough that they have not developed egos that are too big. They want their teachers to like them and want to do good in school. They are very open-minded at that age and beginning to develop their special interests, so it’s fun to get them participating in science.”

Her teaching style? “Organized chaos,” she says with a laugh. “Basically my goal is to be the facilitator and let the kids explore and discover the answers for themselves. That’s incorporated with direct teaching where appropriate.”

The frog dissection, she says, usually is the students’ favorite project. “They act like they are going to be grossed out, but I have never had a student so disturbed they could not do it. They all get into it. It also works well to create three-dimensional models, like showing the earth movement and moon phases. We did a model and had them walking around each other, with one student as the earth and one as the little moons. It creates a more vivid impression that they can take back with them.”

Grading papers is still a challenge, but Katie says she has learned to make it manageable, so she will have time to train for the marathon and to stay active with her church. She also is currently participating in the UTeach Master of Arts in Education, which is designed for working teachers, so they can attend classes in the summer and do additional work over the Internet. “It’s fantastic,” she says of the graduate UTeach program. “I could not afford to get a master’s degree on my own right now.”

Someday she might like to be involved in curricular design and teacher preparation, she says, but for now at 25, her UTeach experience has reaffirmed to her that teaching science is what she is most passionate about. “It’s fun to get up and go to school every day. It’s more exciting than going to an office and having to sit in front of a computer all day like a lot of my friends do. Every day is different. The best part is building relationships with the students – and sparking their interest in science.”