Sarah Gross
When I started to explore the AIP website I knew I had found the perfect program. It was kismet when WCS came on board and made the program realistic for someone in New Jersey.
I'm actually an English teacher by day. I teach at my alma mater, a highly-ranked STEM-focused high school in central New Jersey and I am passionate about reading and writing. I love to blend my interest in science and English and fortunately I've had many chances to do just that. As a teacher, I have the opportunity to share conservations issues and actions with my students and hopefully influence their connections to nature. Watching my high school students become better citizens of the world is the reason I continue to bring conservation into my English classroom.
I think the AIP program will make me a better English teacher, science communicator, and collaborator. It will ensure that I continue helping my students see that nature surrounds them but that they need to take the time to really stop and look around in order to be immersed in it. I look forward to sharing my experiences with my students while continuing to pursue my lifelong love of biology and conservation.
I'm currently working on ways to combat nature-deficit disorder in teenagers in a bid to help with future conservation issues.
What I love about the AIP program is that is introduces me to new ideas, new problems, and new solutions. I love that my classmates come from all different walks of life because hearing about conservation from a WCS keeper provides a perspective I don't get in the educational world. I also love that I can bring so much of the AIP work directly to my classroom. Being an AIP student means constantly learning and re-evaluating my thinking and I think that's a good thing.