Last week, the Stagline’s Griffin Harbaugh sat down with Ms. Jacinthe Marlow, one of the newest members of DeMatha’s faculty.
Griffin Harbaugh: What inspired you to become a biology teacher?
Ms. Jacinthe Marlow: I always loved science in middle and high school. I feel like my majoring in neuroscience in college provided me an opportunity to appreciate biology more.
GH: Did you always know you wanted to teach, or did you consider another career first?
JM: I didn’t always want to teach. When I entered college, I was on the pre-med track and wanted to become a physician’s assistant. I didn’t have a favorite track, but I was hopeful to get into neurology or pediatrics. It wasn’t until my senior year that I decided I wanted to become a teacher.
GH: What’s your favorite topic in biology to teach, and why?
JM: My favorite subject to teach in biology is probably genetics and probability of traits. It was my favorite subject in high school, and I feel like it’s one of the first times students get to observe and see what they’re learning in real time.
GH: Were there any teachers or professors in your life who motivated you to pursue teaching?
JM: Actually no, I wasn’t very vocal about my desire to go into teaching. However, once I told professors that I was going into education they were excited for me.
GH: What’s the most rewarding part of being a teacher?
JM: The most rewarding part of being a teacher is hopefully passing my respect for learning. The world is full of learning opportunities and experiences and if you’re not willing to try, the world becomes very small. A respect for learning is foundational for life, in my personal opinion, and my only hope is that my students come to find out they learned more than they thought they would.
GH: What challenges do you face as a teacher, and how do you handle them?
JM: The biggest challenge I face as a teacher is trying to think of the most engaging and tangible way to absorb the material as a student. I try to think about myself as a student and think about the activities my teachers had us do. I think about the things I would have changed as a student and align that with the realities of a lesson as a teacher.
GH: What advice would you give to students who might want to become teachers one day?
JM: I would tell students to dive into it. I would advise them to find a subject that interests them and dive into it, dive into the excitement of learning and hope to pass knowledge down.
GH: Did you like biology when you were a student yourself?
JM: I didn’t mind biology when I was a student, however, I loved chemistry as a student. I first took chemistry my sophomore year of high school and I loved it so much I ended up taking AP Chemistry my junior year.
GH: What helps you relax outside of school?
JM: To relax outside of school, I like to put away my computer and phone as much as possible and sink into a TV show or movie. One screen for another, but something about a television feels slightly more unplugged than my phone or computer. It’s probably because I can’t be notified of emails or text messages.
GH: Do you have any hobbies outside of teaching?
JM: I enjoy going to the gym, reading or listening to music, and going thrift shopping with my friends.
GH: What’s your favorite book, movie, or TV show?
JM: My favorite movie is Apocalypto, or Love Actually. Some of my favorite shows are Demon Slayer, Insecure, and Game of Thrones.
GH: What’s your favorite place you’ve ever traveled to, and why?
JM: My favorite place I have traveled to is Barcelona, Spain. I’ve been there twice now, once in high school for a month with my school’s foreign exchange program, and again after I graduated college.
GH: If you weren’t teaching biology, what do you think you would be doing instead?
JM: Teaching chemistry, just kidding, or pursuing my Master’s Degree in Secondary Education.
GH: From which college did you graduate, and what was your major?
JM: I graduated from American University and majored in Neuroscience.
Thank you Mrs. Marlow for your time, and have a great rest of the year.
