From Marine Biology to Field Ecology Mrs. Le Roy spends her day educating students about the world we live in. Even in such an ecologically diverse area, many students here at Gig Harbor High School don’t know about the animal and plant species that are around us. Mrs. Le Roy is passionate about her job; she often comes into class talking about the seaweed she collected for students to examine or with fun food-related labs. Her teaching is fun, applies heavily to our environment here in Gig Harbor, and is engaging. She helps students set up science notebooks to organize their work and create a structure that helps students have a clear path to success. Along with the science notebook, her online calendar is consistently updated so that students who are absent from school have access to the material they missed virtually and can go back to school caught up and well-informed. “I think she is very collaborative and provides interesting lectures that don’t bore the class to death. She clearly has a passion for her job, and it reflects her enthusiasm each day in class,” said Cameron Nelick (12). Her students respect her and enjoy her teaching. “My favorite parts of marine biology are the interactive field trips and labs that allow us to experience the work that real marine biologists do in their day-to-day,” Adam Behnke (11) explained. Her classwork is similar to what a person in the field you are studying would do for their job. This has made kids feel like their schoolwork is impactful and important on a real-life scale. When asking her students if they have a favorite part of her classes, they almost all have an excited answer to give. Elanor Trott (11), who is a student in Mrs. Le Roy’s marine biology class, told me, “My favorite part of this class is the field trips and all the fun dissections.” Mrs. Le Roy explained her classroom goals: “My teaching philosophy has always been about building relationships with students. It’s not so much about the content and the lessons, but about caring and bringing connections with students that matters most. Even if they forget what was taught, they will remember how they were treated; this is the lasting impression I want to leave with my students.” Mrs. Le Roy has been a teacher at Gig Harbor High School for a long time. She greets her students by name daily, and her impact on their lives is immeasurable.