It’s been a busy 10 years since 凯迪娜·坎贝尔·彼得森 ’09 graduated from Marist with a degree in biology.  She went on to earn a master’s in genetics at Cornell University and taught science at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut and the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn before accepting a teaching position at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, 新汉普郡.  她嫁给了同为圣母大学校友的约书亚·彼得森(Joshua Peterson), 他们是两个儿子的父母, 杰克·马弗里克(5岁)和金斯顿(1岁).  我们最近采访了坎贝尔·彼得森，谈谈她的职业发展轨迹, bet亚洲365欢迎投注是如何为她的成功做准备的, 以及她作为一名精英寄宿学校的有色人种女性所感受到的责任.

你为什么从一名研究科学家转变为一名中学教师?  这是一个正确的选择吗?

我最终决定离开这个职位，因为我不再喜欢这项研究了.  I decided to pursue science at a higher level specifically because I loved ALL aspects of the field, 但研究人员有效地将我限定在一个主题中.  教书让我再次以一种既充实又有趣的方式展开自己的翅膀.  It was absolutely the right choice for me, and I love being an integral part of the learning process.

你在埃克塞特的日常生活是怎样的?  你教什么课程，参加过什么活动?

对我来说，一个典型的教学日从早上8点开始，一直持续到下午5点半左右.  I currently teach two levels of general biology and will be co-teaching a research course next spring.  由于埃克塞特是一所寄宿学校，我的一天并没有在离开教室后结束.  相反，我扮演了40名学生的宿舍家长的角色.  取决于夜晚, this may mean walking around the dorm to touch base with them or baking cookies for a late-night snack.  能在课堂之外和我的学生交流真是太棒了.

你曾在一些非常优秀的预科学校(帕克、霍奇基斯、埃克塞特)任教。.  那是什么样的经历啊?  学生们和你期望的一样吗?  这是值得的吗??

我很幸运我工作过的地方.  所有学校的资金都很充足, 也就是说我有了自由, 在大多数情况下, 以我想要的方式教授材料的自主权.  我没想到的是学生们会如此投入.  在埃克塞特, 我们用哈克尼斯法教学, 以学生为中心的翻转课堂模式是几十年前在这里发展起来的.  Harkness allows for meaningful and open discussions between the students with me serving as facilitator.  每天在哈克尼斯的桌子旁观察学习的过程是很有趣的.  虽然工作量很大，但却收获颇丰.

你在圣母学院的教育经历是如何为你所享受的事业成功做准备的?

玛丽斯特是我学会如何提出好问题的地方.  这可能看起来很武断，直到你试图制定一个好的研究问题!  另外, 科学课程和参与本科生研究庆典的结合, 奖学金, and Creative Activity (CURSCA) really marked my first foray into the world of the research sciences.  这些经历让我走上了今天的职业道路.

You’ve said that you feel a responsibility to serve as a role model for students of color at the schools you’re in.  Talk some more about that sense of responsibility and the importance of students seeing a face that looks like theirs in the classroom.

It wasn’t until I became a teacher that I realized just how impactful my presence in a science classroom, 甚至在一所学校里, 将.  我不知道为什么我以前从没想过, but I didn’t have any black teachers – and certainly no black female teachers – throughout high school and college.  在追求多元化的人群中有一个说法, 股本, 和包容(DEI)工作, 这个“窗户和镜子”的概念.”  What this essentially means is that students should be exposed to educational examples that serve as windows into an experience unlike their own, 以及镜子，让他们可以看到自己的经历.  I am a strong believer in this principle and feel as if the majority of my responsibility towards my students is to serve as a mirror for those it applies to and as a window for everyone else.  在校报最近的一篇文章中, a former student of mine (who identifies as a black female) commented that her confidence both in herself and her abilities to succeed in biology felt deeply tied to the fact that she had a role model in the classroom.  对我来说，那是一个非常感人的时刻, 因为我经常觉得我在学校的DEI工具包中做得太少了.  Knowing that my presence was a driving force in how she saw herself in the future was a good reminder, 在某种程度上, 为什么我仍然在这些白色的空间里做我所做的工作.

You’re the mother of two small boys – what crosses your mind when you think about raising them as black men in America?  你希望灌输什么?

我们的两个儿子是混血儿, 但随着他们的成长，他们将被世界视为黑人男孩，然后是男人.  我最近的一次工作变动把我们带到了美国白人第二多的州, 这件事最近一直让我夜不能寐.  杰克明年就要上幼儿园了, 这一刻将标志着他第一次走出私立幼儿园的泡沫.  作为一个注意点, the nursery schools that both my children attend are less homogenous than the local public school because they are populated by the children of our diverse boarding school faculty.  像这样, my husband and I are constantly reassessing what lessons both of our sons need to be taught for their survival in a country that hasn’t necessarily shown much love or respect to people who look like them.  我希望向他们灌输这样的知识:他们是坚强、聪明、值得尊重的.  听到这些的人可能会质疑我们是否应该向所有的孩子灌输这些东西, 但我认为我的措辞是经过深思熟虑的.  We currently live in a country that is either showing black boys that they are unworthy and criminalized or only made important by their sports ability.  I want to make sure that my sons are armed with the tools they need to navigate such a stifling world with many unfair expectations placed upon them simply by virtue of their birth.

你认为你的事业会把你带向何方?

If you had asked me if I 将 teaching 10 years ago, I would have told you with certainty, NO.  我很确定，我想成为一个首席研究员，在某个实验室的深处, 研究减数分裂和不孕.  I initially began teaching to satisfy a requirement for a totally different job at the Smithsonian in their science education department.  这是命运的安排, I ended up really enjoying being in the classroom and now plan on remaining on this path for a very long time.

你最近接受了加入bet亚洲365欢迎投注大学新成立的多元化和包容性校友顾问委员会的邀请.  What do you hope to gain from the experience and what does it mean to you that Marist has formed this committee?

被邀请加入顾问委员会，我感到无比兴奋.  我的职业生涯为我提供了很多机会来提高我的DEI意识, and I am hoping that involvement with this board adds to that in a way that could help me take on a more prominent role on a similar committee at my place of work.  对我来说，这个委员会是在我第10次聚会前夕成立的，这对我来说意义重大.  So much has changed for me over the past 10 years, including my involvement with social justice work.  第一次, I feel as if I am truly confronting the trauma of some of my experiences being a black woman in the field of science.  我谈到了窗户和镜子对我的学生很重要的想法, 但这也适用于我. I see my younger self mirrored in my black female students and think of all the lessons I would have liked to have learn at that age and through college.  I am hoping that the work of the 校友 Diversity and 包容 Board works to address all areas of DEI on campus and beyond so that all students have an equitable experience while there and that they leave with the tools needed to navigate their world upon graduation.

你的第十次圣母聚会是今年秋天.  当你回顾过去10年的个人生活和职业生涯时，你会想到什么?

So much has changed for me over the past 10 years; I’ve increased my education, 结婚, 有两个孩子, 找到了自己的事业.  经历了这一切，我的丈夫约书亚一直陪伴着我.  We are both looking forward to looking backward as we reminisce with our fellow Red Foxes about how the past decade has gone for us.  I cannot wait to return to the Hudson Valley with my family in tow to see all the things that have changed, 但也要从保持不变的事物中得到安慰.