UMass Lowell students are getting the chance to make a difference through the UTeach Program.

“The idea of getting to share your love of a subject is what students really enjoy,” said Program Director Eliza Bobek.

The UTeach program, which was established in 2012 at UMass Lowell, takes STEM majors and trains them to teach math, chemistry, biology, computer science and other related subjects to students in Lowell and surrounding areas. According to Bobek, students complete their own majors and a minor in STEM teaching that comes with a teacher’s license.

UMass Lowell is the only school in New England to offer a program like UTeach, which Bobek feels gives student teachers a unique advantage in the job market.
“If you’re going to work part time, it helps to  do something that lets you figure out what you want to do in the future,” she said.

Erinn McLaughlin, a junior math major, has been involved with UTeach since her freshman year.
“I’ve known I wanted to teach since I was seven,” she said.

UTeach only served to reaffirm McLaughlin’s career goal as she immediately found herself at home in a classroom setting.
“I loved it right away,” she said of her first teaching experience.

McLaughlin recalled teaching fifth grade fractions and her joy when seeing the “light bulb moments” of her students as they began to grasp the concepts. Though she enjoys working with elementary school students, McLaughlin hopes to eventually teach math in middle school or high school in her hometown of Lowell.

“Teaching here [in Lowell] would be easier because I know all the kids’ backgrounds and where they came from,” she said.

With over a year left in her college career, McLaughlin has already compiled an impressing teaching resume with the help of UTeach. She has taught at Lowell High School, Greater Lowell Vocational Tech, and a Methuen middle school. McLaughlin also works at the IDEA Academy in Lowell where she is helping students create LED Frisbees and in the Lowell school system as a science research assistant.

“It is a lot of work,” she said. “But, I’m doing what I love.”

While McLaughlin had her sights set on teaching for years, Kreg Kaminski has a different story.

“I had no idea I wanted to be a teacher when I entered UMass Lowell,” said the senior biology major.

Kaminiski got started with UTeach a year ago and, though he will not be able to complete the full program in time for graduation, he quickly got hooked on teaching science.
“I really like to tell students about the subjects I love,” he said.

Bobek agreed, saying that many student-teachers find it most rewarding to share knowledge on their favorite subjects and build relationships with their students.
However, connecting with students and running a classroom is no walk in the park.

“We all think we know what teachers do after so many years of listening to them,” said Bobek. “But good teaching takes much more than expected.”

Drawing upon her 11 years of experience teaching science, Bobek helps UTeach students prepare lesson plans and create learning objectives.

“Classroom management is more important than anyone thinks,” said Kaminski.

In his time teaching science at two separate middle schools, Kaminski dealt with many ESL students, which presented an additional challenge. Kaminski originally intended on teaching in high school, but has changed his focus to fifth grade because of the increased opportunity and the mindset of the students.

“At that age, the kids are very impressionable and good teaching can make a difference,” he said.

His experience with UTeach helped Kaminski land an internship at the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2) where he currently instructs a class on medical device development to advanced Lowell High School seniors. After graduating this May, Kaminski says he will have the opportunity to continue working at M2D2 or take a job at Lowell High School.