Welcome back to the POP QUIZ! This is a regular, yet totally unexpected, feature where we ask students, parents, staff, our friends, and partners to answer a few questions about what they are learning, reading, and thinking about. Today we feature longtime CIS volunteer Teresa Miller.
More than a decade ago, Teresa, who has a background as a veterinarian technician and holds a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from Michigan State University, walked into Edison Environmental Science Academy and started volunteering once a month with the Science Club. At that time, in 2007, she worked with Zoetis in Animal Health. Since 2017, she’s been employed with Stryker as an Associate Sourcing Manager. “I loved doing my volunteer work with the fourth and fifth graders. I thought I might have to give it up, though, when I started my new job, but I didn’t! I’m so lucky that Stryker allows me to continue to do this!” she says.
In fact, Teresa loves working with the students so much that she convinced her hairy, 105 pound friend, Cash, to volunteer as well. A Bernese Mountain Dog, Cash is considered part of the volunteer team who makes Science Club so successful. [Since we’ll be featuring some of the Science Club volunteers, we’ll bring you Cash’s interview this spring when he comes to visit the students at Edison.]
Born in Taylor, Michigan, Teresa, along with her husband, two children, two dogs, three cats, and two horses, now lives on a 10-acre property in Plainwell. “I love Kalamazoo and I love Plainwell. And, of course, Plainwell has the best ice cream!”
Alright, Teresa: pencil out, eyes on your own paper. Good luck.
Pop Quiz
As you know, the Science Club has been going strong since 2004 when Zoetis scientist [and current CIS board member] Dom Pullo started the club. It’s such a fantastic way to enhance students’ learning of science, through inquiry and hands-on activities.
It’s fun volunteering with Dom and other volunteers, like Paul. [Paul Runnels will be featured in an upcoming post, so stay tuned.] The kids are great. They ask lots of question and they are amazing questions. We encourage that. Asking questions is how you learn. They are just so inquisitive. Science, for these kids, is like magic.
What have you found to be the most rewarding aspect to volunteering?
Seeing the change and growth in the students. It’s rewarding to see the kids change from the beginning of our time together to the end. In the beginning, some are just there to get out of class, maybe wanting to do something different. At some point, that changes. They want us to come every week. When we do the slime project, there are always some kids who don’t want to touch the slime, but by the end, they are picking it up and playing with it.
What is a question you’ve asked recently?
When I started with Stryker, I had no manufacturing experience, so I asked a lot of questions. In particular, What are the different types of processing of materials?
So, for instance, when it comes to a hospital bed, part of the metal is bent metal. You do that by heating the metal to form it. And then, you have to use a different process to do another section, say with a laser to cut the holes where you want them.
Since I have gone from animals to manufacturing, I’m constantly learning something new every day and I love that. I never get bored!
What is something interesting you’ve recently learned?
I recently asked Alexa (my Amazon Echo) about dolphins.
Another question!
Yes! And I learned that their skin is so thick. I didn’t realize that but it makes sense as it would help them with body warmth. Orcas are dolphins and not whales. Because we call orca’s killer whales, I didn’t realize that either.
What are you currently reading?
The last book I read was Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. I read it before I saw the movie. I cried through the entire last chapter. The book before that was A Dog’s Purpose by Bruce Cameron. That’s a movie, too, about a dog who is reincarnated. Are you sensing a theme here?
What is your favorite word right now?
Service.
What’s something you looking forward to in 2020?
I’m going on a ten day cruise this spring to celebrate my daughter’s graduation. She just got accepted into Michigan State University (MSU)!
Behind every successful person is a caring adult. Who has been your caring adult?
My dad. The support he gives me and how he teaches. He’s the kind of person who is always teaching, telling you why he is doing something a certain way.. When he was 19 he had started working for Ford and worked for them his whole life. With no real formal education after high school, he felt it was important to get an advanced education. So when I was growing up, he was always pushing me to go to college. It wasn’t an option. In fact, he was the one who got me to consider going into the animal field.
Thank you, Teresa, for hanging out with us at Ask Me About My 12,000 Kids.
Tags: Cash the dog, Dom Pullo, Edison Environmental Science Academy, Michigan State University, Paul Runnels, Plainwell Ice Cream, Science Club, Stryker, Teresa Miller, volunteering in the schools, Zoetis
