Welcome to my blog!

Hello everyone! My name is Olivia Bryce and I am a sophomore here at Saint Michael’s College with a double major in Secondary Education and Mathematics. I’m from Cambridge, Vermont, and I graduated from Lamoille Union High School in 2014. In high school I always helped classmates with their math homework, then one day a friend of mine said, “I like that you explained to me how to do this, rather than doing it for me. Have you ever thought of becoming a math teacher?” That’s when it all started. 
During high school I privately tutored a 6th grade home schooled student who needed more advanced math than what was offered in her public school. When I was a senior in high school I had an independent study helping to teach a 9th grade Algebra class, which was an incredible experience to observe different teaching styles, technology integration, and hands-on activities pertaining to mathematics. I’ve also had the opportunity to teach math instruction while being a substitute teacher at Lamoille Union Middle School, where I got to teach exponent rules to a group of seventh and eighth graders. This was by far one of my favorite teaching experiences, because this wonderful group of middle school students were excited about learning, which you could tell by the way they asked such great questions and genuinely wanted to understand the reason why a mathematics concept is true.

At Saint Michael’s College I am a peer tutor for a calculus class, which I’ve been doing for the past 3 semesters. I’ve found that my passion for teaching math roots from the infamous “lightbulb moment” we all hear about. When a student understands a concept you can see it in the way their facial expression changes, as they see math in a new light. This moment is what makes me so happy and it is the reason I love teaching.

Outside the classroom I love to get involved in extracurricular activities around campus. I am the Co-President of the Random Acts of Kindness Club, I’m a tour guide, I participate in extended service trips through our school's volunteering programs, I have a radio show at the campus radio station, I’m involved in planning a retreat through campus ministry, and as I mentioned earlier I am a peer tutor. In addition, I love to play the ukulele, solve Rubik’s cubes, swim laps, play soccer, and spend time with my cats and cows at home.

Overall, I’m very excited to be diving into the world of education through Adolescent Development. Working with an ELL student is going to be a wonderful learning experience, and although I am nervous about the language barrier, I am excited to see just how much mathematics is a universal language!