I have pursued my career in academia from an amalgam of curiosity, enthusiasm, a quest for knowledge, and a strong desire to foster those attributes in others. I have experience with diverse students, from those with learning challenges to those who excel academically, and from those young adults who are just entering discipline focused science classes to non-traditional older students who bring prior scientific knowledge to the classroom. Living is learning whose legacy does not end with death, and there is no greater legacy than knowledge. I teach because, to me, it is the greatest contribution I can give to the world.