CFNN Reporter Gabriella Umanzor

This week we are honoring one of the new additions to the Cape Fear staff, Ms. Roberts!

Ms. Roberts is our new chemistry teacher; this is her first year at Cape Fear, but she has been teaching for three years. Before teaching, she worked in a research lab at Eastern Virginia Medical School, where she researched cancer markers.

Heart of Teaching

When it comes to beginning her teaching career, Ms. Roberts always had a love for learning. When she wrapped up a segment of the research she was doing, she wanted to shift her focus onto education. Science became her subject because she liked the process of understanding why things are the way they are and how those unique properties can impact the world around them.

“It was just luck and chance that led me to apply for a high school teaching position that was local to my family. I applied, and here I am today,” says Ms. Roberts.

Being relatively new to teaching, Ms. Roberts isn’t sure how to describe her teaching style. But what she ensures is that she focuses a lot on purpose rather than memorizing and tries to promote deeper thought into her students, so they do a lot of discussion-based learning. 

“Being a teacher can sometimes be an overwhelming job,” says Ms. Roberts.

In Ms. Roberts’ experience, there is always a time constraint and more tasks to complete, so there is never a point in being “done” with work, but she loves seeing the improvements in her curriculum. 

“Focusing on the students and seeing you all every day makes it an extremely rewarding career,” says Ms. Roberts.

Heart of Students

“Mrs. Roberts is a great teacher, and she interacts with all of us regularly to make sure we know the content of our lessons. She’s incredibly hands-on, which is something not many chemistry teachers have. For that, I’m thankful to her!” says AP Chemistry student Alexis Martin.

Ms. Roberts believes that chemistry is not a subject that everyone loves, but what makes her happy is that it pushes students to think critically about why things are happening in the lives of others.

“My biggest joys are when students come back to me and tell me how they applied some concepts to real life,” says Ms. Roberts.

When in class, Ms. Roberts tries to build connections with students and have them “buy” into the subject. When teaching, discussions are focused on how different components of chemistry are used in the everyday lives of students and the impact a single change can make.

“I love her class because it’s challenging but is very realistic and teaches us to be critical in our thinking, which is something I feel will help all of us in the future and our career paths,” says AP chemistry student Josh Pirro.

When giving advice to students, Ms. Roberts emphasizes the importance of finding what you like, getting started early, and looking for every opportunity and taking it. 

“Never be afraid to reach out to others because very rarely does someone not enjoy helping others, and it could be a chance to change your life,” says Ms. Roberts.

Fun Info

When it comes to Ms. Roberts’s interests, she enjoys cooking, reading, and hiking. She also really loves snowboarding but took several years off of her hobby during college and would love to invest more time into improving.

When asked if she wanted to pursue another profession, Ms. Roberts explained that she has enjoyed the ones she has had so far and would stay in science. But if her profession were outside the realm of science, then she would work in a bakery or bookstore.

Within science, there are many conspiracies, and Ms. Roberts believes that pigeons aren’t real but are instead drones!

Finally, Ms. Roberts’s final thought for the Cape Fear community is, “I have really enjoyed my year with you all so far, and thank you for being so welcoming! I am excited to continue and get more involved with the community as I settle more into the area.”

Thank you, Ms. Roberts, for being an incredible teacher and staff member at Cape Fear. You deserve all the honor as this week’s Teacher of the Week! Tune back in next week for the next amazing teacher at Cape Fear!