This time, we decided to do an interview with the new 6th-grade biology and pre-algebra teacher! Her name is Ms. Rolfe, and she recently graduated from ASU to come teach at BASIS, so she is completely new and fresh to teaching! She certainly had many stories to share and had thorough responses so stick around for her thoughts on some wacky and quirky questions! Some responses were edited for clarity and concision.
Mark: Why did you decide to teach and why at BASIS?
Mrs. Rolfe: I decided to teach because I love mentoring other students. I spent a lot of my time in school, especially in college, working with my peers, and I really fell in love with tutoring, collaborating, and thought that it was a really cool process. I found BASIS by accident; they came to my college and were recruiting, so I decided to take up the opportunity because I knew I had a passion for mentoring/tutoring. Just kinda landed here, yeah?
M: What was your experience at ASU? What were some highlights?
R: My experience at ASU was really, really cool. I did four years of college. I lived on campus at the Honors College during my first year, and it was really neat living with new people. It was weird sharing my life with another person since you’re strangers. It was definitely intimidating, but it was so neat to have so much independence at the same time. My first lab job was really cool. I got to work as a TA at a microbiology lab, and I got to do a lot of behind the scenes work. I also got to work in the classroom, teaching people how to use microscopes, look at bacteria, and perform different stains. I really loved that experience, helping them become better scientists, and getting to work with hands-on science. Also, my first day of school was a notable moment. I was terrified and went to my classes like “I’m so cool, I’m in college.” Going to my chemistry class for the first time, I got to experience the full-on lab, wear a lab coat and goggles, and feel like a real scientist.
M: How are you liking teaching so far? How did coronavirus affect it?
R: Oh my goodness. I absolutely love teaching. I’ve been saying to my friends and family, “I think I’ve found my calling!” It is so much fun. It’s like everything all wrapped into one; I get to mentor the students and give guidance, and I get to do tutoring. I used to love helping out my teacher when I was a student. I had so many good teachers when I was growing up, and I was able to take what I liked about what they did and implement them with my students, and that was such a unique experience. Learning how to teach has been so cool. And it’s awesome! I’m so excited to be at BASIS.
M: How well are you liking your students? Do you guys mesh together well?
R: Oh yeah, of course. We often joke around. They send me gifs and I send them gifs back sometimes. Once a student sent me this random forms quiz and was like “Will you take it?” I was like “Okay!” and I feel like it’s been going really well. I’ve been having a really good rapport with the students, and we are able to have really awesome conversations in the classroom. I like to run the classroom. I prefer the biology class over the math because it’s almost like a socratic seminar where they are asking me questions and I give them answers and discuss how things work together. I feel like they get to be inquisitive and have the opportunity to interact with other peers and myself in a way they might not be able to in other classes. It’s less of a lecture and more of a discussion!
M: What is your favorite pastime, what would you do other than teach?
R: My favorite pastime? I really like hiking and geocaching in particular – I love geocaching – and if you don’t know what that is, it’s basically an outdoor scavenger hunt. People place these little bottles, pencil cases, or holders where there is a log inside that you can write your name on it, and you have to use your GPS to find it. It’s really fun! I like to do it with my family.
M: Do you have any pets? If so, what kind? Do you prefer cats or dogs?
R: I have two dogs; their names are Oliver and Lucy, both Labrador retrievers. Oliver is a brown lab, and Lucy is a black lab. I also have a black cat that has these white hairs on her forehead and chest, and she also has white mittens. Her name is Luna. I think I prefer my cat because I’m closer to her. She’s not as loud as the dogs; my dogs are very loud. They bark so much, and it just drives me nuts.
M: What is your favorite song or band/musical artist?
R: Ooooh, yeah. I really love Maroon 5, definitely one of my favorite artists. I love “She Will Be Loved,” “Nobody’s Love,” and “This Love.” And you know what, I really love The Jonas Brothers because they are amazing and made a great comeback. I also went to their concert last October in 2019.
M: What is your favorite food?
R: Oh, okay. I guess I have two. Uhmm, I’d say pizza and tacos because pizza’s amazing and tacos because Mexican food is the best.
M: What would you eat for the rest of your life (one thing) and why?
R: Oooooh. Hmmm, pizza because you just can’t go wrong with it.
M: What is your opinion on pineapple on top of pizza?
R: You know, I don’t hate it, but I also don’t love it. When I first tried it, I was like “Okay.” I see the appeal with the sweetness and the zestiness, but at the same time, it’s kind of wet and sloppy. I don’t know if I want wet and sloppy on my pizza. Maybe if they had drier pineapples, I’d enjoy it more.
M: Have you been on any vacation, and which one was your favorite and why?
R: Oooh, yeah. My favorite vacation that I took was when I went to New York, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Lisbon, in a span of six weeks during my medical fellowship. My mom and I kind of made a big trip out of it, so we went to New York for five days, London for five days, Amsterdam for three days, Paris for five days, and Lisbon for three weeks. I also went to the ER, operating room, and things like that. I watched surgeries and got to follow doctors doing their rounds; I got to do a lot. I saw some live births, C-sections, brain surgeries, hernia repairs, and a tumor removal. I also got to learn about the healthcare system of a different country which I thought was very interesting as well! So that would definitely be my favorite trip.
M: If you had one superpower what would it be?
R: Hmmm, maybe like being able to be invisible. So, I feel like there are times where you just need to exit a room and you’re just like “Okay, goodbye,” you know? But then, I feel like there are other times where I would want to be stealthy and sneaky without opening any doors. I’m not sure what kind of invisible I would be – like would I become atom-less invisible or be see-through and still have atoms in me. I don’t know. Between the two, I would choose one where I would become transparent and still be made up of matter, so I wouldn’t be able to just go through doors. I would air on the side of realism and say that one.
M: What was your most embarrassing moment in life?
R: Okay, so the first one I thought of was my first week of college. I was super excited for my class, and I was going to statistics. I whip open the door, and there was a whole other class already in there. I was in the wrong room, and I was like “Oh my gosh!” I was expecting to go in and find a seat when all these eyes turned and looked at me. I just shut the door and said, “Oops” and walked away. Wait! I have a better one. I went to the Everglades in Florida when I was eight and when you go to the Everglades and take a tour, they have these airboats with some seats on it. There are these loud fans on the back of it which propels and moves the boat. Another thing: I hate bugs. When I was little, a bug would land on me, and I would freak out. A small bug landed on me outside in the swamp, and I screamed. The driver thought I was getting eaten by an alligator, and he stopped while everyone on the boat started laughing at me. I thought that was super embarrassing.
M: What was your best moment in life?
R: Oooh, yes, yes! I graduated a year early from high school. I took my senior year during my junior year of high school. I had to take a total of four extra online classes, and I had a job which was even crazier. I was taking eight classes at a time. I would have my daily classes at school and then my online classes at night. After that, I had my fast food job. I successfully graduated, and I walked at graduation, got my diploma, and went off to college.
M: If you were given two things to take onto an isolated island, what would they be?
R: So I’ll give a practical and guilty pleasure answer. If I was going to give a practical answer, I’d bring a knife and a blanket maybe…? Actually, not the blanket, I’d bring a water filter. My guilty pleasure answer would be a generator and a cell phone.
M: If you were trapped on a mountain for a couple of days and you knew there was a hungry bear roaming around, what would you try to do?
R: Oh my goodness. I would attempt to climb a tree, and like, move upward in elevation, or I would try to create a weapon in case anything happens. So I, at least, have something to defend myself with. I would probably also try to sneak around and get out of the area.
M: If you were to receive one million dollars from some random relative you never knew, how would you spend that money?
R: I think I would first pay off my student loan debt, cause you know, that’s a thing. I would pay all my mom’s student loan debt and pay off any debt in my immediate family like my mom or sister. I might buy a new car and then probably donate some money to a foundation that I support.
M: If you were to sell a math textbook in the most ridiculous way possible, how would you do it?
R: Oh, haha. Oh man, how would I sell that? Hmmm, trick people into buying whatever I’m selling and then send them a math textbook. You could put it on eBay as a “mystery box” and put it for like ten dollars and and an extra ten for shipping. Once someone buys the mystery box, you could ship them your math textbook.
M: What would be one thing you would want to change in the world and why?
R: Hmmm. I’m not sure which, so I’ll say two. I guess acceptance because I feel these issues are constantly brought up because there’s a lack of acceptance in our world. and I hope more people are accepting of others such as religion, ethnicity, and sexuality. If people were more accepting of others, I think we’d have a lot fewer issues. The other one was global warming because that’s an issue that’s getting largely ignored, and it definitely needs to be addressed. Reducing carbon emissions and becoming a more sustainable Earth would be something that I’d like to fix if I could.
M: What do you want people to remember you by?
R: Uhm, I think I’d love people to think “Wow! She was really nice and very helpful!” As long as I can help at least one person in this lifetime, then that’s all I can ask for. I hope people remember me as someone who was happy and was able to help others and put a smile on their faces.
To view the full interview on YouTube, please click the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhA9dAszUfM&feature=youtu.be
