A new element has been added to the periodic table of the science staff— Physics and Chemistry teacher Kristen Pham. Her cherry-red hair, bold eyeliner and relaxed classroom presence have quickly made her stand out in the students’ eyes. But there is much more to Pham than her eye-catching style.
Pham joined the science department at the start of the spring semester as the new physics and chemistry teacher after the previous teacher Brionna Fenech moved on to teach in the Engineering department in the school.
“I chose to be a teacher because I’ve had teachers in the past that were kind of mean and not great, and I wanted to be something better than that,” Pham said. “I also think it is really fulfilling to have that light bulb moment show up for your kids, so it’s really rewarding for me in that sense.”
This motivation to help her students traces back to her college experience. Pham originally planned to become a cosmetic chemist because of her interest in makeup and skincare, however, while studying Chemistry at the University of Houston she discovered a passion for teaching instead.
“The University of Houston has a program called the Scholar Enrichment Program, where if you make a good enough grade in a class, you can basically teach your peers, or people who are coming into the class for the first time, and get paid for it,” Pham said. “I started doing that for general chemistry. And then people would come into some of the STEM classes and promote their program, where STEM majors can get their teaching degree, and I was like, might as well try it out.”
Despite joining half-way through the year, physics teacher Christopher Bryce Turner said she had a smooth transition into teaching.
“She’s fresh, she’s right out of school, but she’s really energetic and she has a passion for chemistry,” Turner said. “She’s doing great so far, and she’s enjoying herself. The students seem to like her, that’s always a good thing.”
Junior Madlyn Crandoll initially felt hesitant about the idea of a chemistry teacher teaching physics, but Pham quickly changed this perception.
“I really love science but mostly chemistry, so physics was a bit of a struggle,” Crandoll said. “But Ms. Pham has made the class a little more manageable I think because she is so close in age she understands how to teach in a way we can grasp. The class environment has definitely gotten not laid back but a bit less stressful.”
Even students who don’t naturally enjoy chemistry as a subject in science have found Pham to be greatly helpful in understanding the concepts.
“She’s just gone a new way about it and when she sees that the class is struggling instead of just making us struggle, she helps us through it and also gives a lot of individual attention, which is helpful,” sophomore Jamey Johnson said. “She shows her work a lot and if we don’t understand it still, she’ll just do it over and over until we do understand it instead of getting frustrated that we don’t get it right away.”
Pham said that her goal is not necessarily turning every kid into a future scientist. She rather aims to make her students more comfortable in the subject and to show them that physics and chemistry aren’t so scary after all.
“I hope people can be inspired to like the subject more,” Pham said. “Maybe want to do something with it in the future, since chemistry and physics, they’re the Big Bads of the science world. But if they can not hate it, that’d be enough for me.”
Outside of the classroom, Pham has a creative side to her. She likes to draw on her 2-in-1 tablet-laptop and play video games. While she admits she isn’t very good at PC games, she’s confident in mobile gaming.
“When she was introducing herself, she showed us some of her drawings, which were really cool, and some games that she plays,” Johnson said. “[Those are] the things that you remember because you are like, ‘Oh I also like to draw, oh I also like to play these games,’ and so you kind of have similarities with your teachers. I also really liked her makeup because it was kind of cool and she’s really unique.”
Like any new element introduced into a system, Pham’s presence is already influencing the environment. She brings fresh energy and a new perspective. For her students, specifically, she hopes to inspire renewed sense of genuine enjoyment in physics and chemistry. According to her students, this impact is evident.
“I expect she’s going to make a great addition to the Ranger family,” Turner said.
