When Ms. Amber Lancaster was in her third year of teaching, she went on a research trip to Antarctica.
“It’s a beautiful and peaceful place,” she said.
Since there was nothing but ice and water, she saw whales coming up and trailing the boats.
Ms. Lancaster said some days were stressful because the boat would rock a lot, but when the water was calm it was beautiful being in Antarctica.
Ms. Lancaster is our new Marine Biology Teacher, but she didn’t start as a marine biologist. When she attended the University of Southern California, she majored in electrical engineering.
“I have a B.S. in electrical engineering and an M.A. in education,” Ms. Lancaster explained. “I don’t have a degree in marine biology. It was something I pursued after I graduated and I just kept taking classes in my spare time because it was something I loved learning about.”
During the summer, she worked as a camp counselor on Catalina Island while she was in college.
“I got a random mass email from an organization I was a part of asking for volunteers, and they paid us $50 and room & board for a week of work,” she said.
She would take the kids canoeing and snorkeling, which stood out to Ms. Lancaster the most. It was fun, so she returned two summers in a row to hang out in the water.
At the camp, there was a touch tank where she got to touch marine animals. She touched a sea cucumber and she thought the defense mechanism of the sea cucumber was so cool.
She began teaching in 2009, and since then, has taught “Biology, Marine Biology, Makers elective, Health, Gardening elective, and Engineering, AP Biology, and Critical Thinking and Social Change, and Backpacking elective.”
Now, she teaches Marine Biology at Mission. When she started teaching Marine Biology, she realized that very few of her students had any knowledge about the ocean and ocean life even though the city is almost entirely surrounded by water.
Other than water activities, Ms. Lancaster likes to do a lot of other activities. She likes to hike when she isn’t injured, or bike long distances. She has biked from San Diego to San Francisco and another time from Seattle to San Francisco. She has also biked all over New York state.
Ms. Lancaster likes to climb mountains; she’s climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.
She also likes to scuba dive and go snorkeling.
One of the favorite places that Ms. Lancaster has traveled to is the Living Tree Bridges, in Cherapunjee India. She had to hike 22 kilometers to arrive at a bridge made out of trees.
I have Ms. Lancaster for 5th period. She always tries to get you to learn new things and gives you many opportunities to check in with her. She’s always energetic and makes the class a better learning environment.
I asked Ms. Lancaster to share advice for high school students and she said: “Love yourself, the most important person you can be is yourself.”
If you aren’t sure what science elective you want to take I recommend taking Marine Biology with Ms. Lancaster.
