BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — In southwest Bakersfield, an AP Biology and Biomedical Science teacher at Stockdale High School is gearing up for the journey of a lifetime, preparing for an immersive research trip with National Geographic to arguably one of the most under-explored areas across the globe.
“It’s a bucket list thing, right, like I have a lot of those," Kate Adamson said. "I’m a teacher. I only have so much time off. I only have so much disposable income, like, in what lifetime would I just be like, ‘I’m gonna go to Antarctica for two weeks?’ This year. This is my year I guess.”
Kate Adamson is making the journey from southwest Bakersfield to the Antarctic Peninsula later this year as one of 36 educators across the U.S. and Canada selected for the prestigious Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship, which includes an immersive research expedition to the southernmost continent.
“There’s so much that I want to bring back," Adamson said. "There’s like the logistical, like, what kind of lessons can I develop, but it’s also—I feel like I’m gonna come back a new person.”
We met in her science classroom at Stockdale High School earlier this week, and she told me that when she learned she received this honor, she was actually with her students!
“We were getting ready to do day four of this super intensive lab. I remember this like it was yesterday," Adamson said. "My kids had come in, and I looked down at my watch because it was vibrating, and it said ‘maybe National Geographic.’ I stared at my watch for a solid 30 seconds like I can’t not answer this.”
So of course, Adamson stepped away and took the call. The next thing her students see...
“[I] start jumping up and down [saying] 'Oh my God oh my god oh my God,' and my kids at this point are staring at me like, 'what is happening?' so I had to tell them," Adamson said. "It was a secret thing [when I first found out] but in that moment like there’s no way I couldn’t tell my kids.”
So, what is the Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship? It’s an education program that sends educators on life-changing voyages with National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions. Adamson says it's also a great way to connect with other teachers and share ideas.
Only a handful of applicants are selected each year, and they all to bring their research journey back to the students in the classroom.
"In biology, my goal is to always inspire and have them look at the world a little bit differently," Adamson said. "I think doing something like this is just to inspire them, like, go out and explore your world. It doesn’t have to be Antarctica–I mean, if you can, go, but like just take a drive up the canyon, you know, go see what we have right around us in Kern County. Experience that because it can change your life. I know it sounds silly, but just getting to see things that most people don’t take the time to do, is kind of what I want to bring back to my kids.”
Adamson says she hopes to inspire her students to dream big in their own lives. In biology, Adamson says there's always more than what meets the eye, and you have to look below the surface...sometimes literally. That mindset is what she wants all of her students to strive for, and she says she hopes they lead with empathy and curiosity.
Now since Antarctica is a polar desert, you can really only travel there in the summer season. And with it in the southern hemisphere, that means Kate and the National Geographic team will travel there in December. If you would like to learn more about the Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship Program, you can visit the website here.
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