Erika Shields

Background

About Erika Shields

I have spent the last 5 years as a classroom teacher and in that time, I have found my passions within the education world. I have experienced education in many routes, and I'm moving into new ventures. For three summers, I worked at the Maryland Science Center and Drobots demonstrating physical and chemistry science experiments and describing them in a way young learners can comprehend and enjoy. Last summer, I worked with Drobots company teaching campers basic engineering principles using age appropriate materials such as LEGOs and K'Nexs. Lastly, I have exposed my classroom students to robot coding in whole class projects. My graduate program at Johns Hopkins is very special to me and has allowed me to deepen my experience with educational shifts. The Educational Studies masters let me decide two content areas of my choosing. I have seen the discrepancies of race, gender and economic status affect children's access to gifted and STEM education, and my ultimate career goal is to join in on the work to change that. Education needs a reboot that includes underrepresented communities, and I have the experience to do the behind the scenes work.