Hello Science Corps followers! We are so excited to welcome our new fellows who have both recently started at their respective host sites at AST Morocco and CVIF Philippines.

First we’d like to introduce Chrissy Crute, who is currently a fellow at AST Morocco. Chrissy earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Health and Toxicology from Duke University in 2022. While at Duke, Chrissy earned doctoral certificates in both Global Health and College Teaching. She completed a Morehead Science & Planetarium IMPACTS Fellowship, in which she was trained in science education and outreach and designed and implemented outreach activities at underfunded schools in North Carolina. Here are a few questions we asked her before she headed off to Morocco for her fellowship.

1) What are you most excited about for the fellowship?
I am thrilled to move to Morocco as a Science Corps Fellow at the American School of Tangier! I love traveling and experiencing new cultures, and the opportunity to live in Tangier and embrace the everyday life of locals is so exciting to me. Most of all, I’m eager to put my higher education to use. I’ve always loved teaching, and after many years of in school, I’m so excited to finally give back and share what I’ve learned.

2) What are you most nervous about?
Teaching in a new culture can come with its own difficulties. Specifically, building relationships with students can be challenging across cultural barriers. As my teaching style relies heavily on connecting with each student individually, I am expecting to face some challenges at the beginning of the semester as I navigate a new environment and learn the best ways to interact with my students.

3) What do you hope to gain from the fellowship?
I am most excited to make new relationships with teachers, staff, and students. I gain so much knowledge from others and love learning about people from different backgrounds than my own. In addition, I hope to grow my teaching, management, public speaking, and creativity skills as I progress through the semester.