By Jennifer Ballou | Observer Contributor
Going for a Master’s degree while teaching high school, and with three young children at home, is not something that many people would consider doing. But for Laura Rosmond, she did what she had to.
When Rosmond was young, she had big dreams of being able to go into the medical field and find the cure for AIDS. Medical technologist, nurse, aide, whatever it took, she was going to solve the world’s biggest problem.
But life happens, and Rosmond had her first child before attending college. She made the sensible decision to put the plan to cure AIDS on hold and make sure that her family was taken care of first. She decided to still go into biology but realized that if she couldn’t solve everything, maybe she could help teach others so that they might.
She attended Fitchburg State University and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology, while also obtaining a Secondary Education Certificate. She started teaching at Worcester Technical High School, thoroughly enjoying showing students how fun science can be. She fondly remembers teachers and professors that helped her to realize teaching was what she wanted to do. “I want to teach my students to think ‘How can I fix this?’ I want to encourage them to be better and realized what they could do,” said Rosmond.
At this time, Rosmond’s family grew as they welcomed two boys. Now with three little ones, her oldest being five, she pushed forward with her education and started working towards her Master’s Degree in Science Education. Still teaching high school students, Rosmond went between cell biology, life biology, and life science. She earned her degree and wanted to be able to reach even more students, and so she became an adjunct professor at Mount Wachusett Community College.
Rosmond wants to show students “how cool science is.” Between water labs, where she can “show them all the things it does,” animal dissections, and human skeletal labs, she hopes that she can get them fascinated with science. “It can be gross, but interesting. And hopefully they laugh a few times,” said Rosmond.
She understands what it is like to be a student, particularly one with children at home, or working full time. She empathizes with them because to her, family is what is important, but she is encouraged by their determination to keep pursuing an education. Rosmond believes that if students stay focused, it will all work out for them. And she can attest to that.
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