Organization
Keuka College
Laurel Hester
Profile
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Biography
After graduating Swarthmore College with a double major in History and Biology, I spent a year in Senegal studying rodent diets as a Fulbright scholar before starting graduate school at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). As someone with broad interests in biology and beyond, I loved being part of a large diverse biology department where I studied physiological ecology with Dr. William R. Dawson. Although I enjoyed researching cold acclimatization of black-capped chickadees, I learned that I loved teaching even more. Since completing my Ph.D, I have thus been in positions where my main focus has been on teaching: from teaching at the SC Governor' School for Science and Math to lecturing at the University of South Carolina (Columbia) and Cornell University. Although I enjoyed training teaching assistants as Assistant Director of Cornell's Introductory Biology Laboratory, I longed to return to my small college roots, so in 2011, I happily accepted a tenure-track job at nearby Keuka College where I teach several courses from freshmen and junior seminars to Human Biology, Neurobiology, Mammalian Anatomy and Vertebrate Physiology. At Keuka College I have many colleagues across campus with whom to share my passion for teaching and my interest in digital learning. Recent professional activities include presentations at the Association for Biology Laboratory Education and Blended Learning in the Liberal Arts conferences and participation as an AP Biology Reader.