This year we have had various new editions to our Firebird family, one of them being Ms. Samantha Shore, who teaches environmental, marine, and physical science. With her Master’s degree in Marine Biology, Ms. Shore graduated from Nova Southeastern University and joined us here at Doral Academy in hopes to educate her students about the environment. Before deciding on becoming a teacher, Ms. Shore contemplated becoming a researcher but did not find it to be her aspiration in life. She recalls that when trying to find a career path that was right for her, she discovered that, “teaching would be a lot more fulfilling, and [she] would have a larger impact being able to teach directly to younger students.” 

       Growing up, Shore was always drawn to working in an educational field. “I believe that deep down, I feel like I have always wanted to be a teacher because when I was younger, people would always play house and dress up, but I would always play teacher-classroom,” she remembers. Although she did not expect to be teaching this early on after graduating, she was quick to find this as her calling. Ms. Shore has always been interested in the different aspects revolving around the environment and sea life. During her free time, she enjoys scuba diving because of her extreme interest in marine mammalogy. When asked about how she knew she wanted to turn it into a career, she said, “It’s just always what I’ve wanted to do, it’s what I always felt the most passionate about.”

       When getting her Master’s degree, Shore did her thesis research on the possible toxic or poisonous contaminants in bowhead whales; she chose this topic because there are various native communities around the world that are dependent on this specific species of whale. “We just thought that it would be important to see whether or not this species of whales were contaminated because they’re such a huge food source for these people,” Ms. Shore elaborated. She then submitted a brief description of the research to the 2019 Marine Mammal Conference, where it got accepted, and she traveled all the way to Barcelona, Spain, to present her research. The results of this research demonstrated the source of potential contaminants, and the methods that were used can actually be applied to any species worldwide.

       Our new Firebird wishes to teach each and every single one of her students about the significant impact that humans have on our Earth while using online interactive labs in order to help her students truly grasp the concepts that she is teaching. “I just feel like people need to be aware of the environment and how we’re impacting animals and how we use those animals that we’re affecting. It’s really what the world is dependent upon if we want to keep living.”