Alex Kirby

As a secondary science teacher, I design student-centered, phenomenon-driven learning experiences that harness the innate curiosity and exploratory power of the teenage brain. I cultivate classrooms where every student not only feels seen and valued, but recognizes that their ideas, identities, and ways of thinking are essential to the work of science. I believe science is a fundamentally human endeavor and that science education should empower young people to see themselves as active, necessary contributors to STEM, understanding the world through hands-on investigation and human-centered inquiry.

Latine Affinity Group and DEI Leadership-  Affinity Group Advisor, Sonoma Academy

• Oversaw and supported a community of ~30 students identifying as Latine/Latinx, providing leadership in a culturally affirming space centered on identity, belonging, and shared experience.

• Acted as a liaison between students and administration to coordinate community-building events such as movie nights, bake sales, and on-campus carne asada grill-outs.

• Facilitated weekly meetings to foster connection, celebrate cultural heritage, and ensure students felt seen, supported, and represented on campus.

Co-Designer & Instructor- Neuroscience Program, Sonoma Academy          

• Co-designed and piloted Sonoma Academy’s Neuroscience program through human-centered, story-driven case studies

• Anchored the course in drug-brain interactions as a lens for understanding biochemical mechanisms of neurological disorders

• Centralized discussion and oral processing in STEM to help students collaboratively construct collective understanding

• Integrated bioethics and equity frameworks to explore intersections of neuroscience, social justice, access, and representation

Patagonia, Chile Backpacking & Land Management- Trip Leader, Sonoma Academy

• Will co-lead a 2-week backpacking trip to Chile, learning about conservation and global citizenship alongside 14 students

Netherlands Cultural Exchange- Trip Leader, Sonoma Academy

• Co-chaperoned a 2-week trip to the Netherlands with 10 students, exploring race, class, and gender in a multicultural society

• Facilitated discussions on slavery in the Netherlands and U.S., connecting slave history to contemporary social movements

Teacher Inquiry, Sonoma Academy and University of Pennsylvania   

• Conducting classroom-based research on how my students and I can embody curiosity as a stance toward learning

• Collecting and analyzing qualitative data to illuminate how teacher reflection transforms student learning and classroom culture

• Empowering students to lean into uncertainty and the productive of not knowing as a catalyst for curiosity and collaboration

Emotion Research Assistant, University of California Santa Barbara   

• Investigated negative affect and temporal memory while training incoming research assistants.

Epilepsy Research Assistant, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes   

• Developed an in vitro model of seizure-like events to illuminate resulting inflammatory and metabolic changes.

Neuroplasticity Research Assistant, Pomona College Neuroscience Department   

• Examined modulation of learning, memory, and neuroplastic changes that occur in the hippocampus due to stress.