From visiting an orangutan sanctuary in Borneo to cuddling a panda in China to taking a zero-gravity flight, chemistry teacher Carolyn Walling’s life has been marked by many adventures. In fact, Walling keeps a running tally of her travels; currently, she has visited 46 countries and has no plans of slowing down anytime soon.
For Walling, the best aspect of traveling is its novelty: learning something different and meeting someone new in each country. Her all-time favorite trip was to Antarctica.
“Antarctica is number one because it was so unique and full of life and not what I expected — I thought it was going to be cold, gray and sad, but the sun was shining every day, and it was warmer there than [in Iowa],” Walling said. “Animals and colors were everywhere. You wouldn’t think snow could be 10,000 different colors, but it can be.”
Walling’s status as a world traveler began at a young age. Her father was raised on a farm without running water, and his experiences were limited to rural Nebraska until he attended Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa.
“[At Grinnell], he met people from all over the place and was so impressed by other people in other places that when he got the opportunity to travel, he did. He and my mom went everywhere,” Walling said. “When I was little, we lived in Italy and England, and we would travel all the time. There are pictures of me in my little carrier in Rome, Greece and all over the place.”
Following her high school graduation, Walling returned to Europe, taking three months to backpack alone through a total of 12 countries.
“I don’t recommend doing a lot of the things I did, like sleeping on the floor of a train station or hitchhiking,” Walling said. “[But] all I did during that time made me want to see more and more. I had a Euro Rail (train pass), so if I didn’t have a place to stay for the night, I would just take an overnight train to Italy, and then I’d wake up and spend the day in Italy.”
Walling then attended Grinnell College, where she ran cross-country, double majored in Spanish and chemistry and met her future husband in the same lab where her parents had met 30 years earlier.
After Grinnell, Walling’s path to teaching was circuitous; she first worked as a researcher in St. Paul, Minn., then as a full-time lab instructor at Drake University, where she obtained her master’s in education. She began her teaching career as a Spanish and chemistry teacher in St. Louis, eventually arriving at West in 2007.
“[With teaching], I like that every day is different and every year is different. Sometimes, things happen that you don’t expect, but that’s fun because it is something different,” Walling said. “I don’t like to be bored, so I try to keep things moving because I get bored easily, and if I get bored, I’m sure everyone else is bored.”
Retired chemistry teacher Michelle Wikner, who worked alongside Walling for 15 years, describes the energy Walling brings to her role as a teacher.
“[Walling] had more new ideas because I was stuck in my ways. She was always finding new things, or she’d go to some teachers’ workshop and text me, ‘Hey, we should try this,”’ Wikner said. “She was more of a visionary, and I was more of, ‘Okay, where do we put this in? How do we make it work here?”’
Wikner also stresses the value of Walling’s chemistry background.
“I taught chemistry, but I wasn’t actually a chemist. Especially in the early years, there were some things that I was like, ‘Okay, I’m teaching [concepts], but I don’t know if I totally understand them,’” Wikner said. “So, [I liked to] bounce things off of [Walling]. She’s super smart, and she knows so much about so many things that she was always such a great sounding board.”
Walling’s love for adventure extends into her teaching career; she and Wikner have attended a variety of professional development events across the country.
“She would find [opportunities] that were grant-funded that were basically free teacher vacations; we got to go to cool places and learn,” Wikner said. “We went to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and we went to the astronaut training center in Houston. My favorite memory was last summer; the trip was a geology mini-field course for teachers. She and I are not geology majors in any way, but she found this, and she [was] like, ‘Do you like rocks? We should go.’”
Not only did these educational opportunities bring them closer as colleagues, but they also nurtured their companionship. Because Walling “forced” Wikner to eat lunch with her every day, their working relationship developed into a close friendship. Wikner deeply values the lifelong bond they’ve developed over the years.
“[Walling] is one of the most generous, most caring people I’ve ever met. She’s super loyal; she’s humble; she’s a rule-follower,” Wikner said. “She’s just somebody you can always count on. I am just so grateful that I had so much time working with her and getting to know her.”
Former West student Dasia Taylor ’21 also highlights how dependable Walling is. As West’s science fair teacher sponsor, Walling helped Taylor take her invention — a low-cost suture that changes color after detecting infection — to the most prestigious high school research competition, the Regeneron Science Talent Search, where Taylor finished as a Top-40 finalist in 2021. Taylor’s research propelled her to the national stage, from an interview with Ellen DeGeneres to profiles in The Smithsonian Magazine and The Washington Post.
“[Walling] was very supportive of my science fair journey, and then afterward, as my name started to grow in the public light, I would always mention her in the same breath as my invention because she was such an important part of my journey,” Taylor said. “She cheered me on at every single turn.”
Walling’s role as a research mentor began with her daughter, Abby. Walling first introduced Abby to science fairs in eighth grade, and Abby continued with research in high school, qualifying for the International Science and Engineering Fair her sophomore and junior years. Now, Walling guides students through science fairs, just as she did for her daughter.
“After my kids went to college, I had so much time that I started asking kids [to do science fairs]. But now, people ask me,” Walling said. “Some people work with a lab at the University [of Iowa], and they do everything by themselves. But for some, I help them through every step, including ideas. Dasia’s project was [from] start to finish with me. It really just depends on what people need from me; there’s no set way of doing things.”
Taylor is eternally grateful for Walling’s mentorship and tries to emulate her teaching style during the STEM workshops Taylor hosts.
“I classify her as a friend and a mentor. I look up to her; this is how I want to connect with my students. This is the dedication I want to have with my students,” Taylor said. “I do STEM workshops, and kids come up to me and say that they’re really big fans of my work. [With them], I want to embody Mrs. Walling’s nurturing spirit.”
Whether in the classroom or embarking on adventures, Walling always emphasizes the importance of seizing any and all opportunities.
“You can find adventures everywhere. I recommend applying for everything,” Walling said. “If someone gives you an opportunity, just take it because there are so many cool things you could do that you don’t even know you want to do.”
