I am a High School Science Teacher because I want to design a culturally-relevant pedagogy that centers my students’ experiences, so that they don’t have to choose between being a scientist and being who they are.
Ivan’s Story
Teaching Discipline
Chemistry
Why Chemistry
When people think about science, they think about beakers, flasks, mixing chemicals together, and bunsen burners! Chemistry has the potential to be very exploratory and hands-on. It also applies to every aspect of our lives. I am personally fascinated by the biochemical reactions that take place in our bodies, so I’m interested in bringing in more of a biochemistry approach to teaching chemistry.
Professional Experience
Ivan has six years of private tutoring experience in all levels of high school math, Chemistry, Physics, and Biochemistry, and one year of student teaching in a Chemistry classroom. He also piloted and taught an asynchronous AP Chemistry class for Subject, an education technology start-up aimed to offer college credits to students whose schools do not offer certain classes. During his undergraduate program, Ivan was a head learning assistant for undergraduate calculus classes for three years.
Before becoming a teacher, Ivan worked in EdTech at an adaptive learning software company called ALEKS for two years. He worked in their Chemistry department, adapting Organic Chemistry textbook content into their platform, writing problems and doing quality control checks on coded problems.
Ivan will start his first year of teaching at Del Mar High School, San Jose, in the 2024-2025 school year.
Hobbies
In his spare time, Ivan loves to draw, dance, play tennis, watch sitcoms and anime, and play PC games.
Academic Background
- University of California, Los Angeles (Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, Minor is Asian Languages)
- Stanford University (Master of Arts in Education)