By Benjamin Hong, Features Editor
This year, River Hill welcomes Danielle Duckworth, the newest addition to the teaching staff. An alumna of Mississippi State, Cornell, and Johns Hopkins, Ms. Duckworth will be teaching Chemistry G/T and Advanced Physical Science (APS) in room 250, and if the “Live, Laugh, Love” Skeletor poster in her room is any indication, her class will prove to be an interesting one.
While most teachers study a subject as an undergraduate and then get a master’s in education, Ms. Duckworth had a much more unconventional route to teaching. After earning her Bachelor of Science in chemistry, she went further into the world of academia, earning a “master’s in chemistry and doing a lot of research, and then I got a second master’s degree in biophysics.” But while her initial plan was to continue in this line of work, becoming a research professor and running a lab of her own, she soon discovered that her true love was in the “teaching aspect of science.”
Even during her years in research, this penchant for teaching was already apparent. Ms. Duckworth already had had a lot of experience teaching undergraduate courses in chemistry and biophysics as a graduate student before realizing she wanted to be a high school teacher in 2019. Her decision to shift from university to high school instruction was driven by her fond memories of what high school had meant to her as a teenager: a safe space that “gave me a lot of confidence, and I want to hopefully be a safe space for the next generation of students.” She initially took her talents to Friends School of Baltimore, before moving on to Montgomery County and finally arriving at River Hill.
The quality of a teacher can often be determined by the passion they have for their subject, and in that regard, Ms. Duckworth’s students are sure not to be left wanting. Despite the years she has dedicated to the highest levels of research in her fields of interest, when asked what motivates her to teach science, Ms. Duckworth has a very simple answer. “I love science, she stated. “I particularly love the intersection of chemistry, physics and biology. I love the content of biology but I like how chemistry and physics can actually explain it through numerical answers.”
Ms. Duckworth’s River Hill journey has only just begun, and as she adjusts to the new environment, only time will tell in what ways she will leave her mark on the school community. Yet Ms. Duckworth emphasizes that no matter what the future has in store for her, her one goal is to establish herself so that “if someone finds out they’re going to have me for chemistry or APS they’re excited. I want students to know that, above all, my class is a fun place to learn.”