By: Jazmine Robinson
National STEM Day, observed on November 8th, celebrates science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It aims to inspire interest in STEM careers, highlight the excitement of studying STEM subjects, honor the contributions of past and present STEM professionals, and emphasize the significant impact of STEM-focused organizations on society.
Today, Faces of Innovation features Malcolm Parker, a Professional Learning Specialist who serves on the Educational Outreach team here at HudsonAlpha.
Jazmine: Please introduce yourself and briefly describe your current role here at our institute.
Malcolm: My name is Malcolm Parker, I’m 34 years old and married to an amazing woman named Carla. We have a beautiful son named Jeremiah, who is six years old. I’m a minister and have been in ministry since the age of 15. I love singing, reading, cooking, baking, and mostly, just spending time with my family. Professionally, I am an educator and I work with other educators across the state who specialize in instructing life science courses in high school and middle school.
Jazmine: Do the educators come here, or do you typically travel to them? How does that work?
Malcolm: It depends on what workshop we’re running. Lately, we’ve been hosting workshops around the state with AMSTI locations and with different college locations. In December, we’re headed to Tuskegee University, where we will host 25 middle school teachers from the surrounding counties. We’ll train them in what we call our Middle School GPS workshop, Back to Basics, and they’ll learn how we can use Punnett Squares in the classroom and how we can use phylogenetic trees. We will focus on misconceptions and identifying those misconceptions in the classroom, and conduct an evolution activity as well.
Jazmine: Do you primarily focus on the professional development of teachers, or do you also work in the classroom with students?
Malcolm: My primary role is professional development with teachers. Previously, my work in education was heavily focused on students specifically; here, in doing professional development with the teachers, I am able to make an impact in classrooms all across the state and hopefully the nation.
Jazmine: Tell me about your background. You mentioned working with students, were you ever in the classroom before coming here?
Malcolm: I taught biology and honors biology at Huntsville High School for six years. Like the teachers I train now, I learned about HudsonAlpha through training. I attended just about every training HudsonAlpha offered.
I didn’t have the straight road into education. I went through a fifth-year program. The interesting fact is that I always knew I was going to be an educator.
Growing up, my mother encouraged me to become a doctor. Her reasoning was, “You’re smart, you can make lots of money.” Being from Augusta, Georgia, there are really only a few careers that cross your mind—either you want to play golf, be in the arts, study law, or practice medicine.
In the 12th grade, I was in a Teach for Life Class, and I felt the desire to teach but pushed it aside to focus on medicine. I was offered a scholarship to Alabama A&M University, where I majored in Biology, a step toward medical school. Meanwhile, throughout college, I worked as a substitute teacher. I wasn’t the substitute who would just sit there while the students did busy work, I was there to teach those students. Kids hated to see me coming, but administrators loved me.
As graduation approached, my friends were studying for the MCAT, and I decided that I simply didn’t want that path for myself. I wanted to be a teacher. Unfortunately, when I first interviewed for Huntsville City Schools, they turned me down because I didn’t have a teaching certificate. Then in 2017, while I was working as a car salesman, Huntsville City Schools called and asked if I was still interested in teaching. I jumped at the opportunity, secured a position teaching Biology at Huntsville High School, and obtained my 5th-year Master of Arts in teaching from UAH. That was what I did until I was offered the position here in June of 2023.
Jazmine: Were you always interested in the sciences?
Malcolm: I was a science and math kid. I always had some of the most fascinating science teachers. I love the laboratory because everything is hands-on. Growing up, my mom would always have me put together things when she bought them. I mean, from elementary school on, I was putting things together or trying to fix things. I was always interested in how things work and what happens if you do this, what happens if you do that? When I went into the science laboratory for Mrs. Saunders’ 9th grade Biology class and cut open a frog for the first time, they had me. This is it. I loved it. Biology was my passion.
Jazmine: Can you share a specific example of how your work has impacted the STEM community?
Malcolm: There are a lot of science teachers who don’t know that HudsonAlpha exists; I was one of those teachers. When I first came into the classroom, I didn’t know what HudsonAlpha was. What I love is the impact we have on educators who are new to teaching and who are new to HudsonAlpha. When training them and hearing, “Oh my God, I’ve never been to anything like this before. I’ve never had this kind of experience.” When they come to the workshops, it’s not just “professional development.” We have the benefit of the actual research that is happening here at HudsonAlpha, we produce products that the teachers can take back into their classroom. When they walk out, they don’t just get content knowledge. They didn’t just have a workshop experience, now they have materials that they can take back into their classroom and teach their students. I like to believe this impact is pretty significant in terms of STEM education, especially in our state.
Jazmine: What are some of the most valuable lessons you’ve gained through your career experience?
Malcolm: Well, one of the lessons that I’ve learned is to always bet on the student, always. I think sometimes we sell students short for what we think they can accomplish. I probably spent the most time in my classroom stretching students, pushing them beyond what they thought their boundaries were, beyond what their IEP said they could do, beyond what they’re used to doing.
Students can do more than the limitations we put on them. I don’t care what their learning disability is, what impediments they have, where they come from, or what their background is. I don’t care what the demographics say. If we create an environment where students feel safe, where they feel loved, and where they feel valued, then you can push them beyond their imagination to be able to do something that nobody thought they could do.
Jazmine: What advice would you give to someone or to aspiring students interested in pursuing a career in STEM?
Malcolm: My advice to anybody interested in STEM is to go explore. Many students know the basics—you can teach science or work in a laboratory. Working at HudsonAlpha has exposed me to so many facets of what you can do in the science world.
What’s powerful about exploring isn’t just that you find out what you like doing, it’s that you find out what you don’t like. You discover who you are and determine what you are truly passionate about. If you never explore, you run the risk of feeling stuck in a career that you absolutely hate instead of finding out where your passion lies.
To those who want to be a teacher in the science field, please recognize that education is a calling, it’s a drive. I am fortunate to work with educators like Hutch (Jennifer Hutchison) and Madelene (Loftin), who wake up in the morning going, “How can I make a difference in the lives of teachers? How can I make a difference in the lives of students?” People like Dasi (Price) and April (Reis) who wake up every day asking, “How do I make the difference?” If you don’t wake up feeling that way about teaching, if you don’t wake up feeling that way about students, then you are in the wrong field. The value is in the lives that you impact. Find what you’re passionate about. Where you find purpose, there will always be provision.
Jazmine: Is there anything that you have not been able to say that you want to leave us with?
Malcolm: In 2018, during my first year of teaching, I was introduced to HudsonAlpha. When you walk through these doors, it’s a breathtaking experience. You see this, I don’t even know what type of wood that is, but you see the wood and the glass, the tall ceilings, and the sequencers and the scientists…you look, and you see people who look like you, and you start imagining yourself in this place. I would come to training after training with my fellow educators, and we would all ask the same question, “How do you get here? How do you become a part of this?”
As someone who has become a part of the Educational Outreach team and the team at large here at HudsonAlpha, I count it an honor and a privilege because I get to work with amazing people. First, being trained from an educator standpoint by Madelene, Hutch, Dasi, and our now-president, Dr. Lamb. You know, it’s like watching the NBA greats. They are like watching Steph, LeBron, Kobe, Shaq, and then I got a phone call a year and a half ago, and it’s like, oh my god, I’m on the team.
Being here has changed my life. I’m living my dream.
