SCIENCE. A field of study filled with curiosity and persistence. Kids grow up adoring science and, from a young age, claim they want to be all sorts of scientists when they grow up.

It is not until these scientific dreams are encouraged by real people in our lives that we can begin to realize the possibilities. Science teachers are often our first and most impactful exposure to the world of science. I talked to Mrs. Ciustea, a physics teacher here at Skyline, to get her story.

What did you major in during college? Did you enjoy it? What was it about?

“I obtained my 1st master’s degree in physics. Physics is amazing and endless. I really enjoyed my time spent studying Physics. It required studying different physics topics, working on a variety of complex lab activities, hundreds of hours of learning, and applying physics principles in different real and hypothetical situations. I also obtained my 2nd master’s degree in education – Educational Leadership – after I reached a point in my teaching career when I wanted to learn more about different school systems and school management.”

Have you ever been involved in a lab? If so, what kind?

“Yes. My physics master’s program required me to spend hundreds of hours in different complex lab activities, where each lab activity lasted for 4 hours.
More recently, I also got involved in Biotech College Labs… to learn more about this field, as I noticed how impactful research in this field is on everybody’s life. I also got invited [a few] years ago to work on a [PhD] degree, but I declined the offer, preferring to concentrate my energy and time toward spreading my love for physics to my students and my own kids, hoping that they will enjoy it at least as [much as] I did.”

Do you have any research publications? If so, what was it about?

I spent 8 years organizing and participating in School Projects involving different schools from different countries, in which I involved my students and colleagues.
In these projects, we worked on different activities and topics with the main goal of improving teaching and learning in our schools and also motivating our students to be more original and creative. While working on these projects, I published different articles regarding the impact of these projects on my students.

If you could go back, would you explore a different aspect of science? If so, what field?

I would love to have the time to learn more about the field of physical therapy and new ways of improving people’s health.