I hope that my students come away from my class knowing that science is relevant to their lives and aware of the importance of remaining scientifically literate after their high school years.”
Cassie’s Story
Teaching Discipline
Biology and Chemistry
Why Biology
“I love teaching biology because it ties in information from all sciences—I can incorporate physics, chemistry, and earth science in my lessons. Plus, I find students are naturally curious about living things! I love teaching chemistry for the hands-on lab experiences it offers students. Nothing quite gets student’s attention like a dramatic demo! I love teaching both at the same time, because that leads to me having many of the same students for two years in a row, allowing me to deepen my relationships with students and families.”
Professional Experience
Cassie began teaching at John W. North High School in Riverside, California during the 2016–2017 school year. For the first two years of her career, she taught biology exclusively, then began teaching chemistry in the 2018-2019 school year. At first, she was hesitant to take on a new subject that was not the focus of her undergraduate education, but she quickly fell in love with teaching chemistry. She taught virtually for the 2020-2021 school year, then transitioned back to in-person instruction for the 2021-2022 school year. From 2022-2024, she coached new teachers in her district full time through Riverside Unified’s induction program, Professional Growth Systems. She returned to the classroom in the fall of 2024 at Redlands High School in Redlands, California.
As an undergraduate, Cassie conducted research on water quality at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) as a student research intern. She also researched developmental genetics in C. elegans at UCR through the Hispanic-Serving Institutions – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics program.
Volunteer Experience
From 2016-2019, she was the head coach for John W. North’s Science Olympiad team.
From 2018-2020, she served as a co-lead mentor for John W. North’s FIRST Robotics Challenge team, along with Adam Quaal (2016 Knowles Teaching Fellow).
Hobbies
Cassie enjoys spending time with her husband and son, working on home improvement projects, and board games.
Academic Background
- University of California, Riverside (Master of Education in Education)
- University of California, Riverside (Bachelor of Science in Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology)