Prize Recipient

Ashli Nieves
Rowan University

Background:

As a graduate of Delsea Regional High School, I look back at my high school career and have not one regret. The staff at Delsea helped me find the path I want to take. I never thought about teaching physics until my number one teacher, Mr.McCulley, approached me. In my physics class, Mr.McCulley asked me to stand up and explain to my peers why it is that when you swing a bucket of water over your head the water does not fall out. We had been discussing circular motion all week. So I got up, demonstrated, and explained as best I could; he had put me on the spot. Mr.McCulley was one of the best teachers I have ever had. He really grabbed my attention and made a topic that may not be appealing to most so enjoyable. I admired him. So after class he pulled me aside and told me I had the "teaching thing." I looked at him very confused and asked, “what is the ‘teaching thing?’" He told me that some people just have this thing about them that makes them a fit in the teaching career. Out of all the teachers I have had, he helped me to see that teaching is not just giving students information, it is taking the subject and explaining it in multiple ways until your students understand it. When Mr. McCulley gets excited about physics, so do his students. I want to bring that excitement to students.