2004 National Biotechnology Teacher-Leader Award Finalist - Rosalind Servinsky

Rosalind Servinsky

2004 National Biotechnology Teacher-Leader Award Finalist
Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center
Johnstown, PA

Third place finalist Rosalind Servinsky
(center) joins Paul Hanle (left) and
Elliott Hillback, Jr. of Genzyme after
receiving her award.

I teach medical laboratory and biotechnology courses at the Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center in Johnstown, PA. Four years ago, the state was offering seed money grants to study the feasibility of teaching biotechnology in schools. I traveled to all the biotech programs I could find in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware and came to realize that the skills I was teaching in my medical laboratory course were the same as what was being taught in biotech programs. I then went to the Windber Research Institute, which claims to be one of the largest genomic proteonomic research institutes in the U.S. and only four short miles from me in Windber PA.! I asked them to tell me what was the difference between what I was teaching and what should be taught in the biotech programs. They told me that the skills are the same, but that I was teaching my students to diagnose one patient, while the aim in biotechnology is to find the differences and similarities in diagnosing hundreds of thousands of patients or tests. We realized it would be an easy transition to incorporate biotechnology into my classroom.

After 25 years, biotechnology has put the fun back in teaching for me, and my students love learning it.

I applied for the National Biotechnology Teacher-Leader Award in 2004 because I wanted to raise the visibility of my program and encourage students to participate. The application process was very time consuming and intensive but well worth it in the end. The number of contacts I made through the competition in San Francisco, and the number of people who have offered to help me, have been amazing. Part of the application process involves watching yourself on videotape in front of a classroom and then reflecting on the lesson. This portion really helped me to improve my teaching. For example, I no longer say “OK”20 times in the classroom!

Leading up to the competition in San Francisco was tough. But once I was there, the constructive feedback from the judges was invaluable. One of the best moments was meeting one of the judges, who also happened to be the scientist who helped develop the genes in a bottle necklace kit that Bio-Rad distributes. I actually got to sit and talk with her after the competition!

With the $2,500 award, I took my students to the state capital for the Life Sciences Biotechnology Day in November, 2004. I used the money for room and board and transporting their displays. I will be taking them back to the state capital rotunda in February, 2005 for National Vocational Education Week, to conduct biotech demonstrations with state senators and legislators. Following the Teacher-Leader Award competition, I have been asked to speak at a number of conferences—such as the Integrated Learning Conference at Penn State and the Pennsylvania Association of Vocational Administrators—which have helped me raise the visibility of my program and network with others in the field.

Biotechnology is in all phases of our lives. It’s what we wear and what we eat. After 25 years, biotechnology has put the fun back in teaching for me, and my students love learning it.

January, 2005