Teaching
Teaching is something Mariah has had a passion for since elementary school. When Mariah was in the 4th grade, she received a college scholarship for her essay on how she wanted to be “A teacher, engineer, and an inventor.” Little did the young Mariah know that being a Professor incorporated all of those things.
Mariah never lost her desire to be a teacher, and therefore, she sought opportunities during her undergraduate career to develop skills that would help her on her journey. Mariah began tutoring calculus during her first semester of college. In the second half of her freshman year, Mariah joined the University of New Hampshire Mathematics Center, where she tutored students in all math courses below the 500 level. Mariah was also a student grader for Math homework for several classes, including differential equations and calculus.
Opportunities for direct classroom teaching opened up during Mariah’s graduate studies. During Mariah’s first Teaching Assistant (TA) assignment, she was tasked with creating a project for the Introduction to Chemical Engineering course.
Mariah’s love for scientific communication drove her to ask if she could teach a class during the Graduate Student Professional Development Seminar. Mariah first gave a lecture on creating an effective presentation and data visualization in December 2020. Mariah was asked back for the remaining years of her graduate studies and had the opportunity to improve her lectures over time.
Mariah has been observed twice by a teaching consultant from The Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation. These observations were done so that Mariah could receive feedback on her teaching practices. The summary of these observations are available upon request.
When Mariah becomes a professor, she would enjoy teaching transport or engineering math courses, as they were her favorites during her studies. If given the opportunity, Mariah would enjoy creating a course titled “Drug Delivery Challenges and Strategies for Understudied Populations.” Additionally, Mariah would enjoy creating an elective course about the history of Chemical Engineering, which would detail the people behind the science and the ethical challenges that chemical engineers have faced.
Accessible and Inclusive Classrooms
Mariah is dedicated to creating an inclusive and accessible classroom for all students. Mariah published a solo author paper in 2022 that entailed 10 tips on how to make a course more accessible and inclusive to disabled students. While this paper aims to assist in the upliftment of disabled individuals, it is important to note that doing so can enable a Curb-Cut Effect. The Curb-Cut Effect states that an investment in one group can cascade out and up and be an investment in the broader well-being of many others. When we make changes to improve the lives of disabled people, we can also make many other people’s lives better.