Adele Rouanet
Staff Writer
Stefana Albu, is a new Biology teacher at Westford Academy, coming off of teaching a college class last year. She is both a WA alumna and a Fulbright Scholar.
Q: What specific classes do you teach?
A: I teach CP Biology and AP Biology.
Q: How many years have you been teaching?
A: Before I came to Westford Academy I taught at the college level. I have taught for about one semester, so this is a new experience for me.
Q: Did you like the college job?
A: I did, but I prefer high school age students. So this is a great transition for me.
Q: What do you think of Westford Academy?
A: WA isn’t actually new for me. I was a student here.
Q: How is being a teacher compared to being a student?
A: It has been awesome. It has been such a nice welcome. It is a great community. So I have seen some of the teachers I had as a student. They have welcomed me back with big arms. They asked me to call them by their first name, which is a little hard since I feel like I am disrespecting them. In Westford we are huge on cultivating relationships, and calling people by their last names. I can’t do it yet, it is going to take me a few years.
Q: What or who inspired you to be a teacher?
A: It’s funny, I went to college knowing that I wanted to be teacher. I loved science because of the science teacher I had here at WA, Mr. Kotary. I always wanted to teach. So in some capacity I was always involved in tutoring or mentoring. I was always involved in TAing. So I taught a lab through out my college experience, I helped the professor facilitate the lab. I always knew that it was what I wanted to do. I tried research for a while. I did research at Harvard Medical. I did research abroad in Germany. And then also at Brown for my grad school studies. Even though research is super cool. I always loved being in a classroom and working with students.
Q: What college did you go to?
A: For undergrad I went to Wheaton college which is in Norton, Massachusetts. And during my time there I would commute to Harvard to do research in their lab. Since the science center at Wheaton was under construction. I still wanted to do research and get that experience so I rode there. I had an awesome mentor which inspired me even more to teach. And then after I finished undergrad at Wheaton. I went to Germany for a whole year to do more research and then I went to Brown to get my masters.
Q: Do you speak any foreign languages?
A: Yes, I am fluent in German. I am also fluent in Romanian which is my first language. I moved to the US as a kid. And then that is when I learned English, in second grade. I am trying to pick up a few more, I am trying Greek.
Q: What else did you do in Germany?
A: I moved to Munich Germany right after college. And what I would do is I would research through out the day, nine to five that was like a job. And then I traveled a lot. In each state in Germany, there are thirty different states, have their own traditions and culture, different dialects, different cuisine, so I tried to see as many of the German states as possible. Germany as a country was really central in Europe. So over the weekend I would travel to other countries. I went to France. I went to Italy. I went to Romania to visit my grandparents. So I saw a lot of different countries as well.
Q: How did you end up in Germany?
A: Since I majored in German and Neuroscience. I ended up applying for a scholarship, it’s called The Fulbright. It is given to you by US government to do research in a foreign country. I got this Fulbright Scholarship to go to Germany and do neuroscience research. The two majors came together really nicely. I was funded for a year to do research.
