Education

 

About Suki

I was born a science nerd! I love to help others see the beauty and connection between science and nature. That’s what I like best about teaching.  As a first-generation college student, I relate to and understand the concerns and struggles the students have at YVC. Especially those who look forward to careers in science or medicine, and who aren’t sure they really belong on that pathway.  I strive to provide students with many examples of careers in these fields that they never even imagined.

I am a “geochemist” which means that I explore the relationship between Earth as a planet and the chemicals that make up the Universe.  I like to bring real world connections to the classroom, including unique research experiences from my career, from Alaska to Hawai’i to Easter Island.  Science is both hard work and fun!

I worked in mineral exploration, and then in volcanoes, but I’m now a science generalist focusing on environmental science, extreme environments, astrobiology, and most importantly human interactions with the natural world.  I teach all pathways of chemistry and introductory astronomy. I also mentor early undergraduate research projects with a variety of science topics in our local area that connect to the greater goal of the possibility of discovering life beyond our planet.

My classes are conducted in the fashion of Aristotle (“For what one has to learn to do, we learn by doing.”) meaning that students spend time in class working in teams, solving problems that usually have a connection to real world applications of the topic at hand.  I teach in fully online and hybrid modes. I enjoy teaching online and strive to make my online classrooms as interesting and active as those that meet in person.  

I enjoy doing science education outreach and I volunteer with several local organizations. In my free time, I like to read, cook, camp, hike, canoe and forest bathe with my dogs, or snuggle with my kitties.