Stars and STEM Stories
Former GLOBE Student Now a GLOBE Teacher in Croatia
For one new GLOBE teacher attending the recent European Regional Train the Trainer Workshop, Martina Pulic, this was not her first experience with GLOBE. Martina attended high school (Gimnazija I Strukovna Skola Jurja Dobrile) in Pazin, Croatia, where her biology teacher introduced her to GLOBE protocols. After high school she was accepted to the Faculty of Science at Zagreb University and graduated in 2007 with a degree in biology. In September 2007, she returned to her high school, this time as a biology teacher, and her principal recommended her to be the GLOBE school coordinator.
"Since I was a little girl, I loved nature and everything in it: grass, sunlight, stones…and ultimately that's why I chose to study ecology," says Martina. "Now that my studies are finished, I have many career opportunities: to work in a science laboratory, for companies, or as a teacher in school. What I really like about teaching, though, is sharing ideas with students. GLOBE can help my students open up their minds and think in directions that they would not otherwise."
Some of the benefits of GLOBE that Martina has identified include the opportunities it gives her students to expand their understanding of the Earth around them beyond the boundaries of their school curriculum. In addition, students have the opportunity to take science from start to finish, doing everything themselves and developing skills that will help them in future careers.
Martina says, "GLOBE is a great program I want to share with my students. It is something I can do for the Earth, people, and science and that's why I love it. We live in a time of globalization and global warming and I think climate is my link to connect GLOBE with their lives." Besides serving as a GLOBE teacher and school coordinator, Martina may soon wear another hat: as the first GLOBE Alumni coordinator for Croatia!
28 February 2008