Aaron J. Powner, M.Ed.
High School Science Teacher
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Prezi: Welcome to Class | My Paraeducator for 2023-2024: Miss Elaine Pectol
apowner@spectrumcharter.org Spectrum Academy High School vCard Contact Info
Bachelor's Degree - B.S. in Biology from Purdue University (1996)
Published Scientific Findings - Anticancer Research 16:2863-2868 (1996)
Master's Degree - M.Ed. in Instruction & Curriculum from University of Florida (1998)
Utah Educator License - Endorsements in Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Integrated Science
Early Childhood
I was born and raised at the edge of a small suburb in the Eastgate Neighborhood of Indianapolis, Indiana in the 1970s. It was a nice area that was gradually overrun by expansion of the inner city. I also have many good memories of time spent on and around the family farms in Greensburg and Zionsville areas. Within just a few blocks of my childhood home I had access to a wide range of cultural experiences (easily accessed on my trusty bicycle). I had friends and acquaintances in run-down neighborhoods, gated islands of wealth, expansive trailer parks, retirement communities, inner-city apartment complexes, middle-class suburbs, open farmland, and secluded stretches of forest. I have always been easy-going and easily made friends with most everyone in my youth. Us kids gathered from all over to play at the YMCA recreation center, which was only a fence-hop away from my home (summer camp, swiming, soccar, softball, basketball, etc.). For survival reasons, I learned to respect and get along with people from many backgrounds (racial, financial, religious, etc.). My old neighborhood and the surrounding areas have changed a lot since the 70s, much of it is now nearly unrecognizable, much of the farmland and forests I explored near my neighborhood are gone for good.
Google Earth Project: My Early Childhood 1970-1985 (feel free to browse, but meant for live Q&A)
Teenage Years
My life changed significantly as a teenager when my mother remarried and I moved to the northside of Indianapolis. I had access to new cultures and social settings that helped me develop as a person. I made new friends at Carmel High School and our new church community. I was taught to love the outdoors. I am an Eagle Scout. As a teen, I enjoyed frequent canoeing, fishing, camping, hiking, and other activities in a variety of state parks, rivers, lakes, farmlands, and open forests of southern Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. I came to find much peace in my life as I connected with nature.
Google Earth Project: My Adolescence 1985-1989 (meant for live Q&A)
Pre College Jobs: paper routes, shoveling snow, yard care, Lagoon Amusment Park, Burger King, Little Caesars
Young Adult Years
I served a two-year religious and humanitarian mission to the people of Buenos Aires, Argentina from 1989 to 1991. My mission service was both ecclesiastical and humanitarian in nature. I learned to speak Spanish and gained an abiding appreciation for diversity of cultures, races, languages, religions, food, etc. The ideals of my religious upbringing and the principles of scouting formed lasting impressions upon my system of ethics and my life goals.
Google Earth Project: Misión Buenos Aires Sur, Argentina 1989-1991 (meant for live Q&A)
After returning to the United States, I moved to Utah to live with my brother, focusing my university studies on the sciences. I majored in zoology at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. It was during this phase of my life that my deepest growth and education came as I married and began raising children. Being a husband and father became my true vocation. Still, it took me a while to finish my college education and choose a profession and career. During my studies in zoology I discovered a passion for cell biology. I transferred to Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI), a partnership between the two schools to centralize scientific research and academic health sciences in the urban center of Indianapolis. We lived with my parents for a while, but then moved nearby to a condominium in Carmel, Indiana. In my LDS church congregation I served in youth ministry, working with the 12 to 16 year old young men (both in ecclesiastical and scouting leadership capacities). It was during this phase of my life that I earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Purdue University in 1996. I also worked with a team of scientists to study cancer treatments. Our research was published in 1996.
Google Earth Project: My Young Adult Years 1991-1996 (meant for live Q&A)
Various College Jobs: laboratory scientist (anticancer research), plumbing, office receptionist, editor of a newspaper, IT (residential and small office computers/servers), baker, retail clothing sales, daycare worker, greeting card writer, emergency medical technician, and attended some medical school.
My Teaching Career
It wasn't until I experienced being an educator as a curriculum director at a professional learning center that I fell in love with education. It was like finally coming home. Teaching is what I was born to do. I moved my family to Florida and I earned a Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction from University of Florida in 1998.
I have been teaching teenagers about science and life since 1999, and I love it! Laboring to help young people develop scientific knowledge, skills, and attitudes gives me great satisfaction. Unfortunately, a teacher's salary is insufficient to raise a family. I have worked various second jobs (and sometimes third) to provide for my family and support my "teaching habit" including: private tutor, Sylvan Learning Center, security at Rio Tinto Stadium and concert venues (Complex, Club X, Saltair, Kingsbury Hall, Usana Amphitheatre), IT generalist, micropublishing (editing, book packaging, on-demand publishing), and operations manager (construction company).
Google Earth Project: My Teaching Career 1999-Present (meant for live Q&A)
My childhood, education, family life (wife + 4 daughters, dog, and now with sons-in-law and grandchildren), community connections, jobs and career have brought me to the realization that the more I learn the more keenly I perceive how much more there is to learn. These experiences ignited an intense curiosity in my mind which transformed me into a lifelong student and adventurer. When my life concludes, I hope to be remembered as a thoughtful and caring participant in the human experience.
Adventures:
Google Earth Project: A Few Adventures (meant for live Q&A)
See more of Powner Adventures on my YouTube Channel Playlist
