The intricate world of the living belongs to us all. Biology, the study of life, feeds curiosity about inner-workings of our own astonishingly complex bodies, but also all the way down to the unfathomable realm of the microscopic and all the way up the global scales of climate, disease, and economics. While biological education has been one of my most thrilling life endeavors, it is my work with community college students, themselves, that is most rewarding. My classrooms are filled with motivated and passionate students seeking to invest their talents and time to better our communities and our world. So, while my main objective is to inspire curiosity about the life, my larger purpose is to empower students. Inspire Curiosity about Life When students enter my classroom, they often have the impression that biology is a textbook full of things to memorize. One goal is to shift the perspective and see science as a process and, more importantly, to see themselves as part of that process. I love it when students ask questions that I do not know the answer to. My favorite is when they ask a question that no one knows the answer to! Could an interferon be used to target viruses? What is the neural basis of consciousness? My response: “YOU could be the one to find out!” Another game I play is “when was that discovered?” Germ theory, the idea that microorganisms cause disease, was only developed in the late 1800s. The structure of DNA was only discovered in 1953. High-precision genome editing has only been possible since 2012. Students begin to see the connections between how we discovered things and what we could discover next. Will you discover a nanoparticle we can use to target cancer? Will you design technology to improve photosynthesis or remove carbon from the atmosphere? Empower Students Empowering students in the 21st century requires innovation at many levels. While technology can present a barrier to some students, when applied judiciously, it allows exponentially increased effectiveness of distance education. Distance education began 1728, when the first course was offered through weekly mailed correspondence. Radio, then video, then internet further advanced capabilities. The pandemic thrust previously obscure social technologies, such as video-conferencing, into the mainstream. The tools now available to higher education provide rich opportunities for impactful teaching even in the online environment, and yes, even for culturally responsive teaching, which thrives on relationship and connection. Creative and careful application of technology is a hallmark of innovative teaching in today’s world. One irony in online education is that students self-selecting into online classes, which typically offer the least support, are the same students who typically have the greatest needs. Students with the lowest incomes and unreliable transportation may prefer to learn online, yet have the most limited technological tools. Students who are single-parents and full-time workers have significant time and flexibility needs often choose asynchronous courses. This means that online courses have high proportions of students who are first-generation, non-traditional age, immigrants, and English language learners. The greatest care is needed in developing culturally responsive online courses, which has been the focus of my most recent innovations. As an educator, it is my responsibility to create a learning environment in which all students can thrive. In spring of 2022, I participated in the System Office’s Equity Learning Community for biology faculty, which is part of the broader strategy of Equity 2030, and strives to eliminate educational equity gaps at every Minnesota State college and university by 2030. This learning community experience dramatically affected my teaching, shedding light on entirely new dimensions of equity in the classroom. While I have always been focused on the success of my students, I was further motivated to advance strategies that help all students while impacting students of diverse backgrounds most dramatically. In our study of Zaretta Hammond’s Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, we learned that 80% of the cultures of the world emphasize collective over individual learning and oral over written tradition. We also learned that many traditionally underserved groups of students feel stress and anxiety in the classroom experience, which limits the capacity to learn. Students learn best when they feel supported and encouraged, when they are authentically connected with the instructor and students, and when their cultures are affirmed. So, I rose to the challenge and set out on an ambitious mission to overhaul my online courses. Authentic relationships are critical for culturally responsive teaching. This means a humanized instructor routinely connecting with students. For lecture videos, I found tools that allowed me to capture my whole-body demonstrations with dynamic facial expressions, while incorporating my unique style of diagramming the biological story. Did you know that peristalsis of the esophagus allows us to swallow even against gravity? Let me show you as I swallow this water while doing a headstand. Students feedback for these videos is incredibly encouraging, as students are engaged through humor, drawing, watching, listening, and writing. I have had students exclaim that the lecture portion of my class is the “most fun part of my week!” Hands-on and collaborative work are key feature in honoring cultures based on collective learning. I piloted a variety of lab options for online anatomy and physiology labs, but ended up creating lab kits in-house that cost 15% of commercially available products. Kits include materials such as dissection specimens of rat, cow eye, sheep heart, as well as physiology experiments with analysis of urine and blood type. Lessons contain video instructions, data sheets, assignments, and video feedback once assignments are submitted. The best part, though, is that many of the assignments include a video component, where the student creates a video to share their curiosities. I use a program that acts like a ping-pong style video tool, where students can submit a video and peers and instructor reply with video, even with the ability to fast-forward through the student submission to highlight, circle, and draw on the student submissions, adding an interactive component unimaginable by the first correspondence course instructors of the 18th century. On top of that, students work in groups to design and carry out their own experiments, such as to study blood pressure or muscle fatigue. The group can record their presentation over zoom to share with the class. Groups prepare presentations designed for medical professionals, as well as presentations with hands-on components designed for children. A class favorite has become photo competitions, where students submit creative visuals of their own lab work at home, which I transfer to a musically enhanced video, and students vote for their favorites. Another unique way I empower students is amplifying personal connection. Introductory surveys invite students to share about themselves. When they share about their families, I can greet their children by name over Zoom. If students identify languages spoken, I offer to greet them in their preferred language (I’m up to 29 languages!). When students share about past failures, fear of managing time, or insecurities about their abilities, we meet one-on-one to develop individualized study plans. These surveys also help me empower students to advocate for themselves. When they share about learning disabilities, mental health struggles, or technology concerns, I connect them with them with the accessibility resource office, the counseling center, or IT support. Beyond the introductory survey, I have developed a suite of tools to help empower the learning of all students. I created videos walking through each technology tool we use, as well as one for how to read a science textbook and another for how to study for an exam. Within lecture videos, I model note-taking, demonstrate use of concept maps, coach peer study strategies, and outline time-management techniques. Students report that this goes a long way, that a 3- minute video completely changed their confidence in their own abilities. I often get students writing to me years after my course thanking me for teaching them how to teach themselves. None of this is about biology, but all of it is essential to empower students to succeed in my courses and beyond. Conclusion I chose to pursue this career because I want to play a critical role in helping students achieve their goals. It is an honor for me to inspire curiosity about life while empowering success in education, careers, and lives.