Science, Teaching, and Lifelong Learning: The Evolution of a Career

The Civic Biology Fellowship Program is designed to train undergraduate biology students to integrate their passion for biology with learning how to be more effective communicators, science advocates, and science stewards on biology issues of public interest.  

As part of her fellowship, current Civic Biology Fellow Krithika Mood spoke with Tufts biology alumna Faith Blake, A13, about Blake’s career trajectory and—while the concept of civic biology has emerged after her time at Tufts—the role that related skills and experiences have played in guiding Blake’s career.

As a high-schooler in Irvine, California, Faith Blake loved her Advanced Placement Biology class. She was especially drawn to learning about the cell and body systems, so by the time she arrived at Tufts as a first-year student in Fall 2009, Blake was convinced that her future lay in biology.

She enjoyed courses in subjects ranging from animal behavior to genetics and she found herself increasingly attracted to the stories offered by the discipline. Studying biology at Tufts appealed to her inquisitive side, as she found herself always asking questions and wanting to discover more about the study of life. That inquisitive nature, in turn, led Blake to pursue research opportunities at Tufts. She participated in a year-long study on how variations in repeating gene segments of RNA polymerase II affected transcription in yeast.

But while she valued the work and its impact, she felt increasingly that research was not the best match for her interests. “People need a specific mindset and aptitude for science to enter research. It’s rewarding work, but can be slow and involved. I learned a lot in my time in the lab, but I did not see myself continuing down a research-focused career path,” Blake says.

With this came the realization that although Blake had originally planned to pursue a master’s degree in the biological sciences, a different career was calling. That alternative path started to emerge from her experiences not as a student but rather as a teaching assistant, for Biology 13, and as a math tutor for K-12 students. Blake valued teaching for the chance it gave her to engage not only with the material at hand, but also the students. Teaching and tutoring also offered her a way to make an impact on campus.

After leaving the Hill, Blake earned a master’s degree in education from Stanford University, and then took her skills to the classroom, as an instructor for ninth- and tenth-graders in biology in Oxnard, California, then back in Massachusetts (in Cambridge). Over the course of five years, Blake taught more than 500 students, along the way preparing them for both college and post-high school careers. In her classroom, she focused on making science as accessible as possible to students from a range of different backgrounds.

“In education, there are many different ways to be involved. This could look like teaching, organizing, or simply creating initiatives designed to help those in need,” says Blake.

As a young graduate who was responsible for many students in her first teaching job, Blake felt that she needed something a bit more manageable. That evolution in her career finds her today at the Carroll School, an independent day school in Lincoln, Mass., for children with dyslexia and other language-learning disorders. The school serves students from grades 1 to 9, with the goal of empowering students to become academically skilled and self-advocating lifelong learners. At Carroll, Blake administers the afterschool and summer programs, with duties including budgeting, staffing, and enrollment.

In a way that offers Blake resonance with her own origins as a biology undergraduate, Carroll incorporates neuroscience into the curriculum. Examples include the school’s focus on methods like Targeted Cognitive Intervention, which gets to the root causes of a child’s specific challenges and helps strengthen brain circuits that promote efficient learning. In other words, the school helps students “build superhighways in the brain,” Blake says.

In her role, Blake utilizes inclusive science communication and dialogue skills in her interactions with families. She practices reflective listening (one of the tenets of Civic Biology), ensuring that people feel heard.

“Oftentimes families have concerns about whether their students are going to do well,” Blake explains. “Empathy plays a huge role in these discussions. Letting someone know that you hear them is so valuable.” Blake also emphasizes the importance of clarity: when educating families about language-based learning differences, it is crucial to be as “specific and fact-based as possible,” she notes.

For new Tufts graduates who may not know what their path forward looks like, Blake has insights to share: “It’s important to network, conduct informational interviews, and try new things. You never know what’s out there.”