Andrea Harms has been teaching biology at West High for 19 years. Her interest in the subject began in high school and continues to grow every day. Each day she has an opportunity to educate and inspire her students.
During her schooling at Spencer High School, in Spencer, Iowa, she found herself enamored by her science classes and knew that she wanted to pursue a science career.
After high school, Harms knew she wanted a profession in science, but her passion for teaching came later. Initially, Harms went to the University of Iowa to study biology and wanted to go into dentistry. She immersed herself with different clubs and was set on becoming a dentist in her first years of college.
“At the University of Iowa, as a freshman, I was president of the pre-dental club,” Harms said.
Harms didn’t find her passion for teaching until the summer after her junior year of college when she was working at the YMCA kids’ summer camp. Her boss complimented Harms because she was able to form meaningful relationships with the campers and have positive interactions with them. Her boss encouraged Harms to go into teaching but Harms still wasn’t set on the idea.
When Harms went back to college, she was still working at the YMCA. During this time, Harms was still set on becoming a dentist. However, when it came time for her pre-dental admissions test, she wasn’t feeling fully satisfied with the career.
“It wasn’t where my passions were. It wasn’t going to fulfill me or make me whole,” Harms said.
After her 4 years at Iowa, she went on to receive her Bachelor of Science in Biology and worked in several biology labs afterward. Harms then stayed to get her masters in education. With a passion for teaching science Harms applied for a position at West High. She began teaching at West in 2005 and has taught here ever since. During her time at West, she has taught many different science classes including Earth and Space Science, Biology and AP Biology.
Harms also considered being a math teacher but she enjoyed the variety of lessons and information in the biology subject. So Harms decided to stick with biology.
“Biology is so different, there’s a lab, there’s an activity, there’s just a diverse subject that I can do a whole bunch of different things,” Harms said.
Harms values the learning experience of her students in the classroom. She likes to include hands-on activities that encourage students to collaborate with one another.
“I really enjoy having kids put their hands on things and figure things out. Biology is a subject that you can really do that with,” Harms said.
Harms fell in love with Iowa City and West High throughout her time working here. She loved the idea of being a part of a big school and being able to teach alongside people with the same passions as her.
“I was really relieved and excited when I got this job. This was my dream job,” Harms said.
