Name:
Stephanie Nadasi
Organization:
Glacier High School & Flathead Valley Community College
Position:
Science Teacher
> About:
Stephanie grew up in Missoula, Montana and has a B.A. in Biology and M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from the University of Montana. She has taught high school science for 23 years in public and private high schools in Nebraska and Montana. Stephanie has been teaching at Glacier High School in Kalispell since 2011, where she teaches Biology, Chemistry, Botany, Earth Science, and Intro to Biotechnology.
She became interested in using real biotechnology labs with her freshman biology students in 2014 and with help from Dr. Ruth Wrightsman at Flathead Valley Community College, Stephanie secured a grant with a colleague to buy equipment for DNA barcoding. The collaboration with Dr. Wrightsman turned into an Advanced Technological Education (ATE) | NSF – National Science Foundation grant called TeaM SCoRE Biotechnology, which led to the development of the concurrent enrollment course Intro to Biotechnology for FVCC, where students earn both high school and college credit.
> Academic Program:
In 2019, Stephanie started teaching Intro to Biotechnology for FVCC. It was the first of its kind in the state of Montana and partnered with three Montana high schools to offer the dual enrollment course. They run 17 Bio-Rad labs in one semester, and it is the most lab-heavy science course offered at GHS. Students can then take the second semester of it at FVCC, which prepares them to take the BACE in the spring.
Content Area:
Teaching biotechnology has invigorated Stephanie’s passion for science education. She loves learning and teaching the latest biotech skills to high school students. They have had students from year one move on to study science and biotechnology in college because of this course. That is why Stephanie teaches science, strives to continue to grow as an educator, and provides learning opportunities that ignite and inspire high school students’ passion for STEM-related careers.
> BACE Experience:
Stephanie decided to take the BACE in 2022 when Biotility came to FVCC to run the exam in Montana. Since she has students who take the exam and she feels it is such an important credential for students who want to work in the biotech industry, Stephanie wanted to experience it for herself and wanted to make sure she was preparing her students for success.
Stephanie recently received a teaching scholarship from the Montana Bioscience Alliance to purchase more biotech equipment. She attended their Future of Biotech in Montana event to receive the award and met several scientists in the industry, who all told her they need her students for their companies. They need workers who have the skills the BACE assesses and verifies for the credential as the biotechnology industry continues to grow and students are interested in entering those careers. The BACE gives these students an advantage when applying for those positions.
> Success Stories:
Stephanie received an early college graduation announcement this year from a student who was in her first biotech class in 2019. The student graduated from Montana State University with a degree in biology and neuroscience and is applying for medical school.