Sofía Macchiavelli Girón was a Scientific Teaching Fellow in 2018 while pursuing a PhD in plant pathology. Today, she is an extension faculty member at the University of Puerto Rico. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, exploring new beaches, cooking, traveling, and camping.
What was your favorite part of this program?
My favorite part of this program was having the space to explore teaching like I’d never done before. Before the program, I had only taught other people’s lesson plans. This program gave me the chance to explore my creativity and my critical thinking skills to create teaching materials from scratch, which has been what I’ve had to do in my current position. Therefore, this program gave me a lot of the tools I needed for my career.
How have you applied the skills and knowledge from this program in your career?
The skills and knowledge I gained from this program have been extremely valuable in my career. I’ve been able to apply many of the concepts and ideas I developed to my current position as an educator and outreach specialist.
What advice do you have for new Fellows coming into this program?
Make sure to take advantage of all the wonderful opportunities this program will offer you. Thanks to this program, I was able to do much more than develop my teaching skills. I learned how to design a course using evidence-based practices that always keep equity in mind. I also developed my writing skills because I had the opportunity to publish my lesson plan in a peer-reviewed article. Finally, I improved my teaching portfolio, which has helped as I move forward in my career.
Learn more about Scientific Teaching Fellows.