My journey in this program began by participating in Foundations of Inquiry (FOI); a course which set the stage for the importance of inquiry and student participation in the learning process. It was in this course that I first received formal exposure to different teaching strategies, which all suggested that student-centered experiences and engagement are important. My inquiry project completed during FOI (FOI_DietAndBehavior) focused on comparing animal activity patterns of carnivores and herbivores at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. I was specifically interested in how diet can affect the sleeping patterns of animals.

I collected observations on two different animal species on exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo, Malayan Tigers and the Masai Giraffe, and categorized how they spent their time: resting, stationary alert, locomotion, or feeding. It was determined that these animals exhibit very different behaviors in captivity, with Masai Giraffe spending the majority of observation time feeding, and the Malayan Tiger spending the majority of observation time resting. My results were consistent with previous studies and suggest that diet does influence other observable behaviors. Herbivores need to spend more time foraging for food given that plant material has less calories.

I was presented with the opportunity to incorporate this project into Kettering Fairmont High School's International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum. Each spring, senior IB students visit the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, and the spring of 2014 marked the first year that my Carnivore vs. Herbivore Behavior Study was incorporated into the student's Zoo trip. My comparative inquiry was modified into a student worksheet (CarnivorevsHerbivores_FHSWkst); students complete this study while in attendance, making observation on two species of their choosing, one carnivore species and one herbivore species, then compile data and come to conclusions on differences in species' activity distributions.

After the first year, the format of the student's field trip changed from a day-trip to an overnight trip. This allowed the students to spend a longer period of time at the zoo and provided the opportunity to take the study one step further. Students were able to utilize their own voice and design their own comparative study given their findings from the Carnivore vs. Herbivore Behavior Study. This provided students additional exposure to the process of experimental design and increased their knowledge and experience with inquiry.

This project was incorporated into IB curriculum in 2014 and continues to be used even though I no longer accompany the students on their field trip to the zoo. Since it's incorporation in 2014, approximately 115 students have completed this project. The feedback that I have received from both teachers and students has been positive; the student study is both informative, fun, and easy to follow.

I am really proud of what I have been able to accomplish with this project. This project was one of my first lessons to be incorporated into a formal education setting; having the recognition and praise from teachers indicating that my body of work is a positive learning experience for their students has been really encouraging as I have worked to transition from working in a research lab into working in science education. Their praise helped me to feel confident in my abilities as an educator.

One course offered in the AIP at the Cincinnati Zoo is Animal Behavior and Conservation (ABC). One of my favorite experiences while participating in our face-to-face time was the opportunity to explore the Insect House, specifically the Leaf Cutter Ant exhibit. We spoke with one of the the Insect House keepers and learned more about the impressive social behavior of ants in which varying chastes cooperate and unite toward the common purposes of survival, growth, and to raise subsequent generations of the mother queen's offspring (Schultz, 2000).

This interaction in the Insect House sparked my curiosity and led me to complete an inquiry project which examined how varying amounts of artificial light affect western harvester ant colony behavior, specifically, foraging and tunneling. I obtained and set up three ant farms in varying light conditions and completed observations over a two week period. One habitat (A) was exposed to artificial light for 24h/day while another (B) was kept in complete darkness for 24h/day. A third habitat (C) was rotated between artificial light and complete darkness every 12h to simulate the light conditions of a typical day. After the experimental period, I then manipulated photographic images of the ant farms using computer software to artificially color the excavated tunnel area. This program allowed me to calculate the area in pixels that was excavated vs. not excavated.

Results show that habitat A had the largest area of tunnel excavation-an area equally approximately 27% of the habitat. Habitat B had the smallest area of excavation-an area equally approximately 18% of the habitat. Habitat C fell in between with approximately 25% of the habitat area excavated. Rates of nest development were non-linear. Results suggest that light contributes to an ant's tunneling behavior and general activity (ABC_TunningAntsInquiry, ABC_TunnelingAntsPoster).

Given their presence in most ecosystems, these familiar organisms can serve as a good introductory subject for animal behavior studies for students as young as preschoolers. This interdisciplinary experiment was designed with the intent to become integrated into a local elementary school's curriculum (5th grade) and bridges themes in science, math, and technology. In addition to experimental details, the prepared unit includes background information for the teacher on ants and their natural habitats, as well as their life cycle and anatomy (ABC_TunningAntsInquiry, Appendix A). This activity was designed to comply with current Ohio standards, including introduction and understanding of structure and function of living systems (Next Generation Science Standards), as well as formulating questions that can be addressed with data and collect, organize, and display relevant data to answer them (Ohio's New Learning Standards - Mathematics).

The lesson could be used as is, in a guided inquiry format, or students could use the ant farms in an open inquiry format and formulate their own questions from personal observations. This format would allow for greater student voice which in turn might make their experience more meaningful. The lesson could also serve to introduce native ant species in Ohio and could tie in the conservation importance of ants by stressing their importance in the ecosystem; thus increasing the students local and regional understanding of the ecosystems around them.

This project was one of my favorite activities that I completed over the course of this program. While fun, it also challenged me by exposing me to a new type of data analysis; I normally shy away from trying to use “new” technology, but with a little help and encouragement from my husband who is fluent in computers I was able to overcome this fear. I was really happy to have learned this new skill and I think it really benefited the project as a whole by incorporating technology with life sciences.

To date, this inquiry has not been incorporated into a classroom. However, several teachers have read through the material and have responded with enthusiasm.

This inquiry project also served as a platform for writing, “Tunneling Ants: Not Your Average Classroom Pets”, an article that I recently submitted for publication in Science and Children (PMW_TunnelingAntsManuscript).

Animals have been used in a classroom setting for years. From guppies and goldfish to hedgehogs and snakes, teachers agree that animals serve as natural motivators in a classroom setting because animals are important to young people (Hummel & Randler, 2012). To date, research investigating the benefits of pets in classrooms has focused mainly on the social development of young children with topics including how relationships with animals facilitate social interactions with peers and adults, develop and enhance self-esteem and self-worth, and help develop empathy awareness (Meadan & Jegatheesan, 2010). Other studies have shown a positive correlation between owning a pet during childhood and later concern about the welfare of wild animals (Prokop & Tunnicliffe, 2010). With such benefits, why are animals only found in a quarter of all classrooms? School policy and legal concerns, as well as student allergies, and extra work are often cited, but so is the concern that lessons do not fit into curriculum (Rud & Beck, 2003).

Incorporating classroom animals into curricula is simpler than it seems. They make excellent subjects for student-led inquiry projects, especially with regards to comparative behavioral studies. These investigations are interdisciplinary, bringing math, language, and technology together and provide a complete picture as to how to answer a question. Some of the best animals for behavioral studies require little maintenance or extra effort for the teacher. The Western Harvester ant, the most readily available tunneling ant for ant farm use, is one such animal.

The previous projects allowed me to create classroom resources for student inquiries involving animals. I also had the opportunity to create an inquiry which was completed with students that focused on plants.

Plants are the backbone of all life on Earth and are an essential resource for human well-being (Balding & Williams, 2016). Plants, or compounds from plants, provide a plethora of products we use on a daily basis ranging from toilet paper to medicine and many things in between. Despite the increasing rate of urbanization in modern society, the belief persists that the natural environment is profoundly related to people's physical, psychological, and moral well being (Kellert, 2005). Scientific studies have shown that being in nature can have a restorative effect on our brains (Hartig, Mang, & Evans, 1991). For example, after completing a strenuous task, we are more relaxed after taking a walk in a park compared to taking a walk in an urban area (Hartig, et al., 1991). Even bringing the outdoors indoors can have positive effects; a study conducted at a Norwegian oil company (Fjeld, Veiersted, Sandvik, Riise, & Levy,1998) found a reduction in reported sickness from employees who were surrounded by potted plants at work.

While this positive connection with the outdoors has been documented, when it comes to learning about or conserving nature, the majority of people, even from an early age, have stronger ties to animals, particularly birds and mammals, rather than plants (Balding & Williams, 2016). Amazingly, plants make up 57% of all endangered species in the United States, yet these plants receive less than 4% of endangered species funding (Balding & Williams, 2016). This trend in comparable in other developed nations (Balding & Williams, 2016).

My journey in the AIP allowed me to learn more about this “plant blindness” and discuss ways to try and overcome this obstacle in the course Plants and People (PAP). All life is intertwined, and one goal of this course was to help foster positive connections between humans and plants by providing opportunities to work with plants. During this course, I partnered with a local fifth grade teacher at Cline Elementary School in Centerville, OH and completed a guided-inquiry with 25 students. The project was tied to current Ohio Standards by investigating how plant growth is influenced by a common, but very important decomposer: the earthworm.

While visually identifiable by most children and adults, earthworms are less known for their key role in soil ecosystems. As decomposers, earthworms are responsible for modifying physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil and their presence often results in benefits to the local biota.

I had the opportunity to come into the classroom and lead students through a guided investigation on earthworms (modified from “Wiggling Worms” (Ansberry & Morgan, 2007)) where students were placed into groups and given an earthworm to explore. Students were encouraged to touch their worm and then pose their own questions on earthworm behaviors and their role in the ecosystem. After compiling the student's thoughts (student voice), we designed an experiment to test how earthworms influence plant growth. Together, we hypothesized that if earthworms benefit the soil by improving soil structure and increasing nutrient availability, then plants grown in the presence of earthworm casting will grow better than those grown without earthworm casting. Each student planted zinnia seeds in two different soil types: potting soil mixed with earthworm casting, and plain potting soil. During the course of study, unfortunately, unknown and uncontrollable circumstances resulted in damage to the growing plants and subsequent growth ceased.

While we were not able to collect quantitative data, the project provided a unique opportunity for students to learn that in “real” science, experiments do not always work as planned. Often, in fact, scientists can spend months or even years trying to answer a single scientific question. The lack of data helped emphasize the importance of “process vs. content” and while facts are important, children need to begin to build an understanding of basic concepts and how they connect and apply to world in which they live. The experimental “failure” also created a unique opportunity for me to re-enter the classroom and discuss what we were still able to learn from our study, as well as to note flaws in our experimental design.

This inquiry was repeated after original submission of this paper with a smaller group of students later in the school year. Students results indicated that a statistical difference in height was not observed between plants grown in potting soil mixed with earthworm casting, and plain potting soil. Though a difference in height was not detected, other differences were recorded by the students and could suggest increased plant health. Visually, the plants grown in the presence of earthworm casting were a darker green than those grown without casting; this suggests that the plants grown in the presence of earthworm casting were healthier than those in plain potting mix. Interestingly, plants grown in the presence of earthworm casting also flowered faster than those grown in plain potting mix. An earlier flower period might suggest an increase in reproductive success.

I really enjoyed completing this project with these fifth grade students. All students were engaged throughout the worm activity and very active in their roles in monitoring plant growth. While I am unsure if this project helped foster a connection with plants, given our experimental shortcomings, I feel confident that the students increased their understanding for the workings of their local ecosystem through the inquiry. Since this inquiry, the student's teacher has also done additional projects with plants in her classroom.

Most of my work produced during my AIP journey was focused predominantly on youth, pre-K-12. My last year in the program, however, I was presented with an opportunity to begin teaching as an Adjunct Professor of Biology at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. This prompted projects in my last semester of the program which explored how to incorporate guided-inquiry into the post-secondary biology setting.

While enrolled in Biology Through Inquiry (BTI) I completed two personal inquiries to start investigating potential labs for use within my introductory biology course. One inquiry I completed focused on investigating osmosis and diffusion in plant cells using different saline solutions and a light microscope (BTI_ElodeaInquiry). The second inquiry I completed focused on how the bitterness receptor gene PTC is inherited in my family (BTI_PTCInquiry).

I really enjoyed taking this course and it came at a perfect time in the program, given I was just about to start teaching much of the same content to college freshman. While it provided a refresher over introductory biology concepts, it also sparked ideas for promoting inquiry in a post-secondary setting. I think that this course helped me grow personally as an educator by allowing me to step into the shoes of my incoming students, so-to-speak, and to explore concepts in biology in ways I had not done previously. This course also helped connect me to resources to be able to use in my own classroom, including additional teachers.

I successfully modified and incorporated my osmosis and diffusion inquiry into my lab curriculum this fall at Central State University (CSU_OsmosisandDiffusionLab). Many changes were made, including switching the plant cells used from Elodea plant cells to red onion plant cells, but the general premise of the lab remained the same. Students used light microscopes to observe changes in cellular features when red onion cells are immersed in varying solutions. After dialoguing with the instructor of my BTI class, I added an additional section to the lab that compared osmosis in plant cells versus osmosis in animal cells. Students were able to visualize how cellular features vary between plant and animal cells in hypertonic versus hypotonic conditions.

I think this exposure also has helped teach me that teaching and education is never static. I wanted to make changes to the inquiry after I completed it on my own and after completing it once with students, I have found ways that I would like to modify it to try and make it better for the next set of students.

While I have not had the opportunity to formally implement the PTC inheritance inquiry into my lab curriculum, we will be Iooking at the student's PTC phenotype in an upcoming genetics lab. I look forward to being able to elaborate on this investigation in another semester soon.

Technology, science, and inventions have progressed at an accelerated rate during the hundred years of the 20th century, more so than any other century, and continue to advance in the 21st. We began the 20th century with the infancy of airplanes, automobiles, and radio, when those inventions dazzled us with their novelty and wonder. We ended the 20th century with spaceships, computers, cell phones, and the wireless Internet all being technologies we can take for granted.

Such advances have allowed scientists to make great strides in all areas of research. Advanced radar, weather satellites, astronomy and space travel, plate tectonics, carbon dating, and GPS are just the tip of the iceberg. These, along, with countless others, have allowed scientists to better understand the complexities of the Earth. We use these advances to make important predictions about the environment that we all depend on on a daily basis.

Technology has not only benefited researchers and general society, but also education. Advances in wireless communication technology have provided educators with an opportunity to develop new educational models. This is especially valuable in non-formal and informal learning, as educational practices can be performed at any time and any place. Smartphones have become increasingly popular to use as an education platform given their mobile nature (Sharples, Taylor, & Vavoula, 2007) and certain mobile software applications (apps) have already been created to help the user identify plants, birds, and trees in nature such as Leafsnap, iNaturalist, and MyNature Animal Tracks.

While participating in Conservation, Science, and Community (CSC), I created a community engagement lab which allowed the user to experience an educational self-guided nature walk in a local park, Southdale Woods, using mobile technology (CSC_AppTechtoEnhanceLearningExperiences).

The ability to use mobile technology as a means of an informal learning experience was explored with a free existing app, AllTrails (previously EveryTrail). Developed by Global Motion Media, Inc (available for Android and Apple devices), this app allows users to create and download ‘trips' or ‘guides' using a mobile device or computer. GPS technology allows the user to tag points of interest (POI) along a particular route via GoogleMaps interface on the computer or in real time by annotating a walk. Other AllTrails users can then search for ‘trips' and ‘guides' either by proximity using their mobile device, or can download specific content to their app via the computer.

I created a new trip within the AllTrails app by visiting Southdale Park and walking through the woods while tracking the route taken using mobile GPS. POI locations, which had been predetermined based on topics that are often discussion with pre-K-5 students and their families who visit the Habitat Environmental Center, were recorded by taking pictures (graphical location information embedded). Topic included: invasive species awareness; bird watching and identification; stream ecology and pollution; decomposition and the relationships between plants and animals in a community; and tree identification. After my walk was complete, I uploaded the information to the AllTrails online database and made the trip public so that anyone could search for and utilize this guided nature walk.

In order to assess the success of the app as well as encourage community voice, I held a focus group discussion with ten member of the Kettering community ranging in age from 28-58 and of varying race and socio-economical backgrounds. Results were generally positive with several areas of constructive criticism.

Mixed results were received whether if using technology deterred member's experience outdoors. Responses tended to correlate with age; younger members were less distracted with carrying their mobile device. The AllTrails app unfortunately does not use an audible signal to notify users when they are coming upon a POI; as such, users must keep their phone in their hand to ensure they are traveling the correct route and to find POI. I completely agree that this would be a deterrent in application use. People would perhaps spend more time looking at their phone than experiencing the nature around them. Some indicated that the learning experience began to feel formal as the app use was so rigid.

Not all members felt as if they had learned something new after participating in the walk. As this was explored deeper, it became apparent that this was related to age. POIs and concepts presented were selected and written to be accessible to families and able to be understood by children in elementary school. Members agreed that often, concepts presented were below their education level or that they were already knowledgeable on a particular topic (mainly Emerald Ash Borer and invasive honeysuckle). Perhaps in hindsight, it would have been more appropriate to include families in the focus group, instead of only adults.

When members were asked if they would use a similar app in a different Kettering park, most agreed that they would not use the application unless they were in a group (with family). It becomes cumbersome to use the app alone and severely deters from one's solitary walk in nature. When in a group, however, the dynamic of the outing is different, and an accessory app is more conducive. It was also pointed out that this app could be beneficial for teachers at the neighboring elementary school. They could take their students into woods during the school day and have lessons about biological processes and issues in biodiversity literally in the palm of their hand.

It can be difficult to hear the criticism of a project that you have worked so hard on, but I honestly feel like without the focus group I would have gauged the success of the project very differently. Hearing the voice of my community and being able to see my project in a different perspective allowed me to reevaluate the use of mobile technology in learning. Instead of encouraging the use of this app as an individual learning tool, it was advertised as a “Get-Outdoors” activity to be used for families. Given the nature of the online platform, I am unsure how many residents have been able to take part in the activity, but the content of the nature walk continues to be used with teachers and students at the Habitat Environmental Center today.

My last semester in this program, I had the unique opportunity to participate in a course through a partner AIP Masters Institution, Cleveland Metropark Zoo, entitled Ecophysiology: Biomimicry. This course explores a relatively new field in science: biomimicry, or using nature as a model or mentor to solve everyday problems. “Living lessons,” this field encourages us to look to how nature has evolved over millions of years and apply these strategies to problems facing mankind. This course was truly fascinating. We explored topics ranging from sustainable farming and modeling perennial crop growth after a prairie ecosystem, to personal product development such as shoes modeled after the hooves of mountain goats to help stabilize the elderly.

The project that I completed for this course was a lesson plan that was also made to be implemented at the Habitat Environmental Center. The project, a lesson plan on aviation innovation and biomimicry, was created to be incorporated into an established and successful week-long summer camp, “Flying Aces” for boys and girls, age 10-13 (BMIM_AviationInnovationandBiomimicry).

My community, Dayton, Ohio, has a rich aviation history. Home to Orville and Wilbur Wright, Huffman Prairie Flying Field, where they tested their aircraft after the historic first flight in Kittyhawk, North Carolina, as well as the modern day Air Force Museum, Dayton is a destination for people of all ages wanting to learn more about flight. The history of man-powered flight and biomimicry go hand-in-hand. The Wright Brothers were known to take inspiration from birds and other flying animals, like bats, when sketching their ideas for human flight; they were pioneers of a field of science before it even existed.

The lesson plan that I created is broken into two main teaching sections. The first section focuses on exploring the flight of birds and how these animals have inspired man-powered flight, and the second section focuses on mammal, insect, and plants flight and how these organisms are inspiring modern man-powered flight. While historically birds have inspired the design of many airplanes and helicopters, today's researchers are looking primarily to bats, insects, and seeds like the maple monocopter, to inspire unmanned aerial vehicle technology.

Students get to explore their own voice by participating in a multi-day design challenge. To complete this challenge, students will think of a flying organism and think of one (or more) characteristic(s) about its flight behavior, body structure, or processes. Then, the students will incorporate these traits into a hypothetical man-made aircraft.

This lesson plan has not been incorporated into summer camp to date, as it was created after the year's summer camp season had already finished. The lesson plan will be included during Flying Aces, 2017. There is an additional aviation camp that is offered in Dayton, Ohio, “Air Camp,” for students of a similar age. I have had a few conversations with one of the camp's directors and it is my hope that this activity will also be incorporated into its curriculum as well.

Each March, thousands of individuals all across America participate in events to celebrate and encourage reading. Read Across America, an effort initiated in 1998, is held each year in conjunction with beloved children's author Dr. Seuss's birthday (March 2nd).

Dr. Seuss was also an environmentalist. ‘The Lorax', one of his most famous books, is commonly recognized as a fable concerning the danger corporate greed poses to nature, using the literary element of personification to give life to industry as the Once-ler and the environment as The Lorax.

While working at the Habitat Environment Center, I single-handedly developed a new community program which connected the national Read Across America effort to themes in science and conservation. The Dr. Seuss Birthday Bash was an open-house style family program which included a reading corner, games and interactive stations, character meet-and-greets, and of course, birthday cake. What made this program unique, however, was the incorporation of games or activities which were based on popular Dr. Seuss books and involved science and conservation. This pairing provided the opportunity to celebrate reading while also exposing those in attendance to science and conservation. A sampling of some of the activities I created for the event are detailed below:

‘Meet a Fox'
Book: Fox in Socks
At this station, participants were able to meet a native Ohio fox (Noah's Arc Sanctuary) and learn about the fox's role in the local ecosystem. Participants were then able to craft their own ‘Fox in Sox' using recycled toilet paper tubes and other art materials.

'Save the Trees'
Book: The Lorax
At this station, participants were encouraged to reflect on their personal lives to explore how some of their actions might be negatively impacting the planet. Participants were encouraged to make a pledge to modify existing behaviors, such as remembering to turn off the lights, and were reminded that small actions add up to big change in conservation. Participants were then able to create a Lorax craft out of recycled materials and plant a flower in a recycled toilet paper tube.

'Whose Tooth?''
Book: The Tooth Book
At this station, participants learned about diets of different animals and how their teeth are adapted to accommodate these diets. Replica teeth were available for participants to handle and children could make their own teeth impressions using styrofoam plates. Older children could also participate in a classification activity which involved moving felt animals into their appropriate dietary classification (carnivore, herbivore, omnivore).

‘Meet a Turtle'
Book: Yertle the Turtle
At this station, participants were able to learn basic facts about the Habitat Environmental Center's resident Painted Turtle. Older participants were also able to participate in a guided-inquiry by making observations on the turtle's behavior and learning about how turtles regulate their body temperature.

'Animal ABC's':
Book: Dr. Seuess's ABC's
At this station, participants were presented with a custom deck of cards which contained images of a plethora of Ohio native species. The objective of the game was to correctly name the species and identify what letter of the alphabet the species started with. Older students were encouraged to learn and use specific animal names, for example “Cardinal,” rather than “bird”.

Since its inception in 2014, the annual Dr. Seuss Birthday Bash has been met with praise from the community; each year, more than 100 people have attend the event, with a total nearly 500 participants in three years. I continue to be involved, though now as a volunteer coordinator given I am no longer employed at the Habitat Environmental Center.

I am very proud of what I have been able to achieve with this event. It is the largest single-day event that I have organized--coordinating 10+ volunteers and countless details. I especially love running this event because I get to meet many new families who live in the Dayton area and expose them to the awesome programs that are offered at the Habitat Environmental Center. Often, these families indicate they had not heard of our facility previously and were unaware that Kettering provided environmental science programming. I have enjoyed seeing these families enroll in other programs that we offer at the facility.

To view photos of the Dr. Seuss Birthday Bash held in 2015, please copy and paste the following URL into your web browser:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5l3st9zl092p9d5/AAAW9WXV5MOT-YSW8wrG216wa?dl=0

As previously discussed, the Habitat Environmental Center has a strong connection with Kettering City Schools given our partnership for the Land Lab Nature Program; this program, however, is focused on K-5 students and there has been little involvement in environmental education with older students in the district. During the early fall of 2013, however, an interesting opportunity presented itself to begin a new project with the local high school, Kettering Fairmont High School (KFHS). After several preliminary brainstorming sessions between representatives from both the Habitat Environmental Center and KFHS, we decided that the Habitat Environmental Center would sponsor a seminar series which would promote college and career readiness by exploring careers involved in environmental services.

In 2010, ‘green' careers, or those dealing with environmental services or sustainability, grew at a rate almost five times greater than all others careers combined. With such growth, it is of utmost importance to provide exposure to current high school students on potential careers in this field. Unlike other career fields, however, green careers are unique as positions can span all academic disciplines and encompass engineering, technology, mathematics, civics, art, and more.

In order to showcase this, the Green Career Series (GCS), a lunchtime seminar series, was developed and was held at KFHS over the course of the 2013-2014 school year. I was responsible for facilitating this series and served as the liaison between the Habitat Environmental Center, KFHS, and the professions brought in to speak. Given the scope of this project, it came to serve as my Leadership Challenge (LSI_GreenCareerSeries).

I contacted the professionals who were brought in to speak primarily via email; some professionals were recommended by Fairmont science teachers, several were already within my professional network, and others were found using online queries for local professionals. I wanted the seminars to be informal and to feel more like a conversation than a presentation. Therefore, professionals were given loose guidelines for presenting, and were instructed to touch on the following general questions: what is your position and what do you do on a day-to-day basis?; how does your career fall within the scope of ‘green' careers or environmental services?; what type or education or technical training have you received that has led you to this position?. Eight presentations were held between November 2013 and April 2014 and ranged in topics from environmental law and urban planning to renewable energy research and water quality monitorings (sample advertisement attached, GCS_Flyer3). I presented during the last session of the GCS and discussion my journey of “what I want to be when I grow up” (GCS_Presentation).

I was very excited to be given the opportunity to spearhead this project for a very personal reason. I attended KFHS from 2002-2006 and during my time there I had absolutely zero exposure to career planning. At that time, a college and career planning course was not required. I knew that I was good at math and science, but had little idea of what I wanted in my future besides something pertaining to those subjects. I didn't declare a major until the end of my sophomore year of college, and even then, I still changed a few more times before settling into a degree in general biology. A few years after my undergraduate graduation I changed my mind again and switched to a new career field, one still centered on science, but more social: science education. I wanted to convey to students through this series that, despite what society leads us to believe, deciding “what you want to be when you grow up” is not necessarily straightforward. We continue to learn about ourselves and grow into the person we are meant to be throughout the course of our lifetimes. The knowledge we gain and the experiences we have help mold us into these people.

More than 300 students attended and the seminar series was met with very positive feedback from both teachers and students. I developed a simple survey for students to complete after each session of the seminar series to help gauge the motivation for attendance as well as the success of the session. An overwhelming amount of students (97%) agreed that the time of day in which the presentation was offered was a key factor in their ability to attend. While students often cited “to receive class credit or extra credit” as the reason for attending, 93% of students agreed that they learned something new by attending the seminar. All students agreed that attending one or more seminars in the series was beneficial in terms of planning for their future

Leading the GCS at KFHS also sparked interest in green careers at Van Buren Middle School, one of two middle schools in Kettering. I was invited to present on this topic to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders on two separate days in May of 2014 (GCS_VBGreenCareers). In total, approximately 100 more students were exposed to information on the growing career field of green careers. These presentations were really an added bonus, and I was so pleased to hear that the GCS created such a positive buzz throughout the district.

As a whole, I believe this seminar series was tremendously successful for its inaugural year. To date, no formal plans have been made to continue the series, in part due to a transition in administration (head principle and science department chair). In passing, we have discussed the potential to shift the focus of the career series to a different career category (human services, manufacturing, government or public administration) so that theoretically a student at Fairmont could have four years of exposure to different types of careers. I love this idea and I think it would be beneficial across the board. Should this career focus shift, I am not sure what my involvement in the series might be.

For access to additional documents created for the GCS, as well as access to two of the presentations given by local professionals, please copy and paste the following URL into your web browser:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mmau3iv8jb5w9wm/AABDFibVzqL0gG976ROBXZm4a?dl=0