ANGELA BICE
Chemistry Teacher
Thermopolis High School
Thermopolis, WY

Angela Bice was first inspired to teach while in the third grade. After high school, she joined the Army as a way to earn money for her education. The experience taught her many valuable skills and gave her the opportunity to travel the world. “I had some incredible adventures traveling to Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Okinawa, Haiti, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. It is amazing how different, and yet how alike, we all are.”

After leaving military service, Angela initially pursued a degree in elementary education. “This was when I took my first ‘fun’ science class. It happened to be geology. The instructor took advantage of local geologic wonders and led many exciting field trips, bringing the phenomena discussed in class to life.” The class hooked Angela on science.

After earning her undergraduate degree in geology, Angela enrolled in a PhD program in environmental engineering at Oregon State University with the goal of eventually teaching at a college level. She worked as a teaching assistant in a variety of undergraduate courses, which were often large with little student-teacher interaction. The impersonality of these classes disturbed her. “How many students hate science because they were never introduced to the subject in an engaging, exciting way?” Angela realized that she wanted to teach science to students at a high school level and went on to earn her master’s degree and teaching certificate from Oregon State.