The great thing about biology is that it is all around us—it literally is us—and my job is to bring that idea into the classroom and to make everything I teach as relevant to my students as possible.”
Laura Nutter found inspiration in nature at an early age. She grew up spending winters in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and summers in western North Carolina. Laura began considering a career in biology as a high school student at the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. “My AP biology teacher was engaging about everything he taught. Even previously ‘boring’ topics seemed fascinating with his enthusiasm and obvious love of science.”
As an undergraduate biology student at Duke University, Laura assisted graduate students in a plant molecular ecology lab, and assisted teaching high school science classes through Duke’s Talent Identification Program (TIP). One of her favorite teaching moments came from her time there. “Students loved creating skits together, everything from explaining the auditory pathway to inventing and diagnosing a novel neurological disorder. It ended up being the perfect way to get them engaged and excited about what they were learning.” Laura graduated with distinction from Duke, winning the biology department’s Award for Excellence in Plant Science. She went on to work as a research assistant in a plant molecular ecology lab at the University of Richmond, and had work published in a peer-reviewed journal before deciding that her true calling was teaching.
Laura attended the Harvard Graduate School of Education, graduating in May 2011 with a Masters of Education and a license to teach 6-12 Biology. She then taught various levels of biology and ecology at TC Williams High School (now Alexandria City High School) in Alexandria, Virginia for 5 years. In 2016, Laura started teaching biology at Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland, where she has been ever since. She is now the Science Department Chair and teaches AP Biology.