MCHS has a new teacher in Room 1429. Allia Yarrow, a Mason City alumni from the class of 2009. As a senior, she dreamed of teaching science here at Mason City High School. She wanted to teach anatomy and physiology, as well as biology, which are the classes she currently teaches here.
She originally wanted to be a middle school science teacher. However, when previous biology, anatomy, and physiology teacher, Heidi Vasquez, had surgery, Yarrow stepped in as the long term substitute.
When the year ended with Yarrow finishing off Vasquez’s classes, she applied for the position and got the job.
Some goals Yarrow has for her classes include wanting her students to have a love of science and the world around them. When asked why, she answered, “I grew up with this love of the natural world, so I’m kind of hoping that I can get a little bit of that to rub off on them.” She concluded with her hopes that all of her students are successful, in both school and the real world.
Yarrow’s favorite part of teaching here at MCHS is the people. She stated, “The people are good. The students are very fun to interact with, they’re very good people. The staff, when I was a sub here, they were very helpful, but now that I’m actually a teacher here, it’s like they will do anything for you if you need it.” She speaks of how the people, and the environment in the school makes the experience feel almost like, “a little family.”
Yarrow is well known throughout the building because of the two animals in her classroom. Vasquez had a snake, but Yarrow wanted something that most students would enjoy being around. The classroom as a hamster. She is known by many names, but one of the more popular being ‘Nubs.’ There is also a hedgehog, aptly named Sonic, and students enjoy watching both animals running around the classroom. When asked why she wanted these animals, she responded, “I’m not big on reptiles…I do think that every biology classroom should have some kind of living thing in it, whether it’s plants or animals, so I wanted some kind of pet.” In addition, the pets were chosen by the students, having the idea to get a hamster and a hedgehog. Yarrow’s classroom also has a new turtle named Fish.
Yarrow’s words of advice for students hoping to pursue science in their futures are, “If you’re interested in science, go out and pursue it. If you’re interested in data collection, go out, do some collection on your own. Citizen science is a very popular thing, and was a thing that furthered sciecne when there weren’t many instutions. I would say that you shouldn’t let any failure be a major set back for you. Dust your self off and try again.”
– Maya Jalukar (Fr.), MCHS
Very nice interview. Great comments, Allia.