Unearthing God’s miracles in ourselves and the world.
There is nothing I have experienced in life that reveals the existence of God as our Creator in the way that biology does.
My fascination with biology was sparked one sunny day in high school while watching little green sprouts grow from the beans I had germinated in Mrs. Nugent’s class. From that moment forward, my fascination became ignited by every aspect of the field. With each experiment conducted and dataset analyzed, I thought to myself: How could this possibly be an accident? From there, my interest in biology became rooted in faith, and grew into something greater than myself.
Understanding how proteins are made within a cell and sorted to their proper designations is a miracle alone. These small but significant facts are proof of a supremely intelligent and powerful Creator who hand-crafted the world we live in and molded each and every one of us in his image.
One thing my dad always told me was to “find the joy in the job.” Embracing this concept was the fuel that stoked the fire within me. Teaching with enthusiasm, in hopes of inspiring my students to behold these wonders, comes naturally through the passion and happiness I have found in the field. Empowering students to design and carry out their own experiments, troubleshoot, and evaluate data teaches them that they have the knowledge and skills needed to ask questions and get answers. This group work encourages fellowship and human connection surrounding two shared passions: biology and faith.
Each and every time I reflect on my calling to research and teach the wonders of biology, I think back to the profound way in which God revealed himself to me in the bean garden that started it all. The sprouts that grew before my eyes planted their roots deep within my heart and soul, urging me to spread this miracle I have witnessed to others, and inspiring students to see the way God is communicating with us deep within each and every cell of our beings.
Sharing God’s majesty with my students and watching them unearth truths about the world we live in – this is what ignites the passion within me.
