By Derrick Smith

The subject that a teacher decides to teach is usually one that they enjoy learning about themselves. This not only helps them teach the subject because they understand it better, but also because their enjoyment level allows them to share their love of the subject. Nichelle Gray is a high school biology teacher at Enid High School and says she has had a love for science from an early age. 

“I was interested in forensics in high school,” she said. “A science teacher of mine found out and created a forensics class for students. As a young adult, before I ventured into teaching, I created and managed a genotyping laboratory at a University, where I taught graduate and undergraduate students about research methods, research design, and mouse genetics. I’ve also worked as an environmental chemist and a public health educator.”

Gray is in her second year as a high school teacher and she knows that passing along her knowledge to her students is an important job.

“I have always been motivated to acquire new skills or knowledge and my love for learning is something that I have always wanted to pass on to younger generations. I am extremely passionate about teaching the whole child in order to facilitate their lifelong love of learning.”

Over the years, Gray has been given different types of advice from different teachers and others. Out of all of them, she says there is one bit of advice that has stuck with her the most.
“Don’t be afraid to ask for help,” she recalled. “Ask those questions and take that advice. Mistakes will happen but see them as opportunities for improvement to better yourself for your students.” 

Besides teaching her students, there are other things that Nichelle enjoys about being a teacher. 

“The idea of being able to create and develop strong relationships with parents, staff, administrators, and most of all students is something that continuously drives my passion for teaching,” she said. “Aside from teaching academics, I understand the importance of fostering positive relationships with my students as this aligns with high academic achievement.”

When she is not in the classroom teaching, Nichelle enjoys spending time with her family in Maine, cooking, reading, and shopping.