I’m originally from western Massachusetts (the beautiful Berkshires), and grew up loving the outdoors. As a 1st-generation college student, I feel fortunate for the educational opportunities that I have been able to experience. Before I came to Mt. SAC in 2001, I was a “freeway flyer,” gaining teaching experience and geological knowledge of the state of California. Since then I’ve found opportunities to work with Cassini scientists at JPL, and to travel with teams of scientists and educators to Morocco and India (educating young children in Space Sciences, and exploring the Himalaya in search of microbes in extreme environments)!
At Mt. SAC I offer Earth Sciences and Astronomy courses (including research opportunities) in the hope of inspiring my students to pursue a life-long interest in the world(s) around them. I try to help prepare students to take control of their own education so that they can use their imaginations to solve the problems of their generation. Talk to me about research opportunities like field studies, the SIRI program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, uses for a goniometric photopolarimeter (see this recent publication: https://faculty.mtsac.edu/mboryta/Nelson_etal_Icarus2018.pdf), anything related to Geology, Oceanography, Planetary Sciences, or even Astrobiology!
I also hope to inspire my colleagues to collaborate with each other with the goal of helping students succeed. I have worked with Faculty Interest Groups and a host of committees, and now intend to learn how Communities of Practice can help integrate faculty with all the other services of the college to make a student's Mt. SAC experience a lifelong treasure.
