CERN Alumni Impact in the Classroom
“There is nothing more enriching and gratifying than learning” Fabiola Gianotti, CERN’s Director-General stated. On the International Day of Education, 24th January, the Office for Alumni Relations is celebrating those alumni who have gone on to work in the education sector after their CERN experience. Hoda Elgendy, Octavio Dominguez, Eleni Ntomari, and Channa Hatharasinghe share their experience and the impact they are having on the next generation of scientists and engineers with the CERN Alumni community.
Hoda was a summer student in 2018 in the ATLAS experiment testing the new silicon sensors that were placed in the upgrade. Following graduation, she opted for a career in the education sector as she always had a passion for sharing knowledge with others, in addition, she also enjoys being a role model for her students:
“Being a teacher is a blessing. You can inspire many people, motivate and guide them daily. It’s a career full of patience and resilience.” The International Day of Education is for her “recognition of one of the hardest jobs in which you are a mentor, a loving parent and an educator at the same time. Students enjoy expressing their gratitude to their teachers on this day.”
Octavio, CERN Alumni Second Collisions award winner, arrived at CERN in 2009 with a two-year Scholarship from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology.
His then CERN supervisor and mentor, Dr Frank Zimmermann convinced him to do a PhD, keeping him at CERN until 2013. Octavio worked on Accelerator Physics in the BE-ABP group, studying the appearance of electron cloud build up in the LHC and possible mitigation techniques to reduce the problem and hence improve the luminosity of the accelerator. After his CERN experience he took the decision to become a teacher in the UK: “The idea of being a teacher had been on my mind ever since I was a teenager at secondary school. I benefitted from some excellent teachers that nurtured my love for learning, who sparked an unquenchable curiosity and instilled in me the need for hard work and resilience that leads one to feeling proud of one’swork. They inspired me to become one of those people who changes lives for the better. And eventually, after my time at CERN, I decided it was time to do it.”
Octavio’s passion for teaching is clear when he talks about his profession: “ I LOVE my job. Happiness and personal satisfaction are clear outcomes from working as a teacher. It’s truly amazing seeing my students evolve into the best version of themselves. As a Maths teacher I also enjoy observing my students’ joy when they understand new concepts, and become more and more confident in their skills, and feel proud of themselves.”
Teaching has not only given Octavio the opportunity to shape young minds, but also the opportunity to learn and develop as a person: “I’ve spent most of my career as a teacher in schools in deprived areas of the UK, and now I’m doing my second year in one of the most affluent schools in the country. This has given me a new perspective on society and has helped me understand better why some behaviour patterns appear. It has helped me gain empathy and understanding. Teaching has made me a better person.”
Though not always easy, teaching is highly rewarding: “The profession is definitely not exempt of challenges. Well, in fact I can say it’s the most difficult thing I’ve ever done, albeit experience makes everything slightly easier. But if I keep doing it, it’s because the feedback from students is absolutely priceless.”
In Octavio’s point of view, the International Day of Educations signifies recognition: “I do believe education (in general, not only in schools) is one of the principle means to change the world for the better. I feel that the teaching profession is frequently disregarded by many people in our society. In fact, the constant political quarrels between parties and how little is done to improve education systems in most European countries is a clear proof of how little our society really cares about education. Therefore, I believe that having a Day of Education helps bring visibility and recognition to such an important matter.”
Eleni was a summer student at CERN in 2006 and returned three years later as a User. She also spent long periods at CERN during her PhD and postdoctoral research working for the CMS experiment. She then went on to the teaching profession, as she has always loved teaching and research: “I was trying to acquire knowledge not only in physics but also on pedagogical subjects and take advantage of every opportunity I had to teach. For example, during my PhD studies, I was an instructor of a lab course. I also loved talking about science and CERN to non-experts and therefore I decided to become a CERN guide and give talks about CERN in local schools. Even though Physics and Research was my big love, when my postdoctoral Fellowship ended (that was in DESY in Hamburg), I wanted to return to my home country and try to get a permanent job there. That was not an easy project. While applying for grants, I continued giving talks and Modern Physics masterclasses to High Schools, which is when I received a teaching opportunity. After a year, I realised teaching was highly gratifying and thus I decided to continue my career as a Physics teacher in secondary and high schools.”
Eleni finds her vocation as a teacher highly rewarding: “Anyone who loves kids knows how heartwarming it is to work with them. I particularly enjoy seeing the enthusiasm in their eyes, when I speak about my research experience, it is something that cannot be explained with words. Not to mention the great satisfaction when you contribute to helping them follow their dreams. On the outside, teaching might not appear difficult, but in reality, it is not just a profession, but a way of changing young people's lives, it is a "project" with no timetable and a continuation of trying to learn new things in order to become more efficient and helpful for your students.”
For Eleni, the International Day of Education is a reminder of why she loves her job and being a part of others’ personal and professional development: “It reminds me of an old saying, “we owe our being to our parents and our well-being to our teachers”. The International Day of Education reminds me why I love being a teacher and how much I want to help my students discover what they like, what they want to do with their lives and teach them how to learn new things and make a better world for everyone.”
Channa was a summer student at CERN in 2019 working in the ATLAS experiment. After he finished his bachelor's degree, he decided to focus on teaching physics to the Local Advanced level students in Sri Lanka and taught Mathematics to first-year undergraduate students at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura: "I took that as an opportunity and organized multiple seminars to educate students on the opportunities that are available for students who decide to move into a career in physics." Working in the education sector helped Channa understand the importance of laying a solid foundation for students even in challanging times: "Especially with the pandemic, education has evolved with the introduction of many new online platforms. I believe it's a positive thing that happened and more and more students should be brought into this new system of education. I think that is what we should celebrate and spread during this International Day of Education."
Here at CERN, there are various professional development programmes for teachers to keep up-to-date with the latest developments in particle physics and related areas, and experience a dynamic, international research environment. All programmes are facilitated by experts in the field of physics, engineering, and computing and include an extensive lecture and visit itinerary. Furthermore, CERN’s teacher programmes enable teachers to meet teaching colleagues from their respective countries or from all around the world. CERN offers teacher programmes in either English or in one of the national languages of CERN Member States, lasting between 3 days and 2 weeks. Please check https://teacher-programmes.web.cern.ch/ for more information.
Those of you who follow the CERN Alumni Network will be aware of the many diverse career trajectories taken by alumni after their experience at CERN and on the International Day of Education we salute all CERN alumni who have made teaching and knowledge sharing their vocation. Do you have a story to share with the community? Let us know by contacting us at [email protected].