GGSE: What made you want to become a teacher?
Anya Burt: I think we've all experienced the feeling of having a class we love going to and having a class that we dread. Growing up, I found a strong appreciation for teachers who created a classroom environment that was exciting to go to. These teachers were almost always caring, compassionate, and empathetic, and made the topic exciting! I appreciated teachers who looked at me as a person who was capable of anything (they didn't treat me like I was just a kid). These teachers inspired me to become a teacher myself, as I hope to be someone that creates a classroom environment that students are excited to go to.
GGSE: How has being a first-generation undergraduate and graduate student impacted your teaching goals?
Burt: Growing up as a first-generation college student, I felt relatively unprepared for college. I didn't know what the college experience looked like, or how to succeed. I couldn’t ask my family for advice, which led to a lot of fear. Luckily, my family was always supportive of me and always encouraged me to go to college! For some kids, I know that they may not have that same support from family (or the exposure). As a teacher, I hope to inspire my students to go to college and walk them through the process of what it looks like! Even if it's not college, I want them to know that no matter what their home situation is, they can do anything they put their mind to (and I hope to support them where I can).
GGSE: As an aspiring AP Environmental Science teacher, what do you find most fascinating about the subject?
Burt: There’s so much more to environmental science than what the textbook has to offer. On top of the standard curriculum, I want to show students the beauty of our earth, the complexity of each earth system, the vastness of the earth’s geologic time scale, and how we, as humans, came to be. I’ll show my students the intricacy of it all, in hopes that they will gain an appreciation for our earth. How each earth system relies on another, and if one fails, another fails.
As an aspiring AP Environmental Science teacher, I feel that there is an enormous potential to enact change in the lives of future generations. More than ever before, our planet is in desperate need of our help. Climate change is becoming more and more prevalent as each year goes by, and the best way to make a difference is not only to increase awareness of the dangers of climate change but to also gain an appreciation for what this planet has to offer.
GGSE: If you have any free time (we realize how consuming TEP is), how do you like to spend it?
Burt: I love spending my free time with friends! It doesn't matter what we're doing, as long as we're together and having a good time. My favorite activities are game nights, movie nights, playing sports, going out to eat, and¬¬––let's be honest––we all love an occasional bar crawl. If I'm not with friends, I love getting a good workout in. Whether it's lifting weights or playing ultimate frisbee with TEP friends, I like to keep my body moving.