b'A JOURNEY OF SCIENCE AND PASSION Dr. Bianca Silver teaches AP Environmental Science and Anatomy and Physiology (honors section).Bianca Silvers path to teaching at Columbia High SchoolBY ADRIANNA DONATAcareerwith a sig- good idea of what the district needed. Bywiththeenvironmental science. restless while working on former teacher nificantasageo- ThisconversationledtoameetingBy 2008 Silver was chemistinthecorporateSTEMsupervisor,CorrinaParsio.thefallher dissertation. When the opportunity to return to world,Dr.BiancaSilverof 2018, Silver was teaching at Columbia Highher former junior high school to replace her former began longing to return toSchool.Parsiosays,Thevalue[Silver]bringsteacher arose, she took it. I was so happy to teach the classroom and contrib- from her real-world experiences both enriches herand enjoyed the classroom experience, says Silver. utetotheSouthOrange/ classes and empowers her students, especially herFor a while, she tackled her doctoral thesis and Maplewood community.female students, to see themselves in the STEMa new career.I felt something was missing, says Silver. field as a future career choice. However, balancing the two endeavors proved Asfatewouldhaveit,anopportunitycameSilvers academic odyssey began at Stuyvesantoverwhelming, so she paused her teaching aspira-while bringing her preschooler to the South Or- High School, one of New York Citys most com- tions temporarily and was able to complete her ange Country Day School. Director Annemariepetitive public schools. She earned a prestigiousdoctorate.Maini spoke to me about the school districts needathlete-scholarMorehead-CainScholarshiptoSilvertransitionedintothecorporateworld, for STEM teachers. She said I might be a good fitthe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,accepting a job as a senior research geologist at and asked if Id consider it, says Silver. Maini waswhere she majored in geology. Silver went on toExxonMobil, focusing on petroleum geochemis-also president of the South Orange-Maplewoodearn two masters degrees and finally a PhD fromtry. For nine years, she worked on environmental School District Board of Education, so she had aPrinceton University, solidifying her expertise inprojects and traveled extensively. However, when 12/ matters magazine / school 2024'