Hidden in the 500 hall at the high school lies a teacher new to the district. Teacher and Microbiologist Sandy Debrick is a seasoned professional who’s finding her place in the school.

As an instructor, Debrick teaches physical science. However, when looking at all 30+ years of her work experience, Debrick has only been a teacher for about a third of it. Despite this, she is making her mark as a teacher in the district.

Sophomore Cora Gross is a student in Debrick’s physical science class. Gross, who is involved in both speech and debate and soccer, has dreams of working as either a detective or an investigator. Despite her interest that lies outside of science, Gross says Debrick makes the class enjoyable.

“She is pretty cool. I enjoy this class because of the teacher, given that I hate science. I think her connections with her students are what make her a great teacher,” said Gross.

Debrick’s compassion in the classroom with her students stems from her strong familial bonds.

“I have thirteen kids. Six adopted and seven biological. And the youngest one was born with some health conditions, so I ended up getting out of microbiology and staying at home with him for a little while,” said Debrick.

After working in microbiology for nearly 25 years, Debrick didn’t hesitate to step away from her career in order to care for her family. Despite this, almost ten years later, an opportunity to step back into the field of microbiology presented itself to her.

“So then when I was teaching at Archie, and the pandemic hit with COVID and everything, my old lab contacted me and asked me to come back to work for them. So that’s what I did,” said Debrick.

At St. Joseph Medical Center, microbiologists work with various cultures – bacterial, fungal, viral, and, as of last year, COVID-19.

However, there’s another reason aside from years of experience that Debrick was contacted. Over the years, the number of youth going into the field of microbiology has been dwindling. In other words, there’s a shortage in the number of people pursuing this study.

Debrick calls microbiology an “old person’s profession. People aren’t going into the laboratory sciences as much right now.”

To emphasize her point, Debrick joked that if she wanted to, she’d be able to quit at St. Joseph and find ten other labs to work at in the span of a week.

Now, more than ever, it’s crucial for students to learn about the field of microbiology. With the emergence of new diseases and the increased ease of spreading illness through travel, it’s critical for new people to study this science.

Fortunately, through the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) class, students are given the opportunity to work on a microbiological level.

Teacher Stephanie Dieker instructs the third-year class for PLTW – medical interventions. Dieker calls the course a gamut of information. The coursework includes a unit where students grow bacterial cultures, study antibiotics, and attempt to grow an antibiotic-resistant superbug.

Dieker agrees with Debrick that it’s a necessary step forward for younger generations to be introduced to microbiology.

“I think it’s really important. COVID comes up quite a bit in our class. We talk about vaccinations, and how those kind of help. It’s important for people to have an understanding of the science behind it, and not just what the media puts out there,” said Dieker.

As the year moves forward, so will Debrick. By engaging her students in the course material and working to make a difference in the lab, Debrick is making an impact.