My experience with LEGOS as a kid was different than most. Instead of just building things, I began to ask how stuff worked. That started my interest in physics. I am currently enrolled in the SPU School of Education’s Alternative Routes to Certification program, and was one of seven other students privileged to receive the PhysTEC Noyce Scholarships for 2010–2011. With part of our tuition taken care of, we are on track to received our teaching certificate in physics and commit two years to the classroom in a “high need” school district after graduation. There is an increase in students taking physics in high school and unfortunately a lack of equipped teachers in the area. As a student-teacher at Seattle’s Ingraham High School, I enjoyed proposing scenarios for my students to help them think like physicists and to allow for their curiosity grow. After finishing student teaching at Ingraham, I am now prepping for my second year teaching physics and algebra at Todd Beamer High School in Federal Way, WA.
—Zach Brenneman '10
