Yager has a close “bond” with students
You will rarely ever encounter a teacher who is as dedicated and as genuinely passionate about the subject he or she teaches as Dr. Deborah Yager. She has taught at CVHS for six years now, and over the years has instructed Kitchen Chemistry, Chemistry, Honors Chemistry, Pre-Nursing, and Pre-EMT.
Currently teaching Chemistry and Honors Chemistry, Yager has truly committed herself to a lifelong obligation to better her students.
“I really don’t have a favorite class,” replied Yager. “The truth is that each class has its own unique challenges and I enjoy each one. They’re a different group of students, with different ways of looking at things. It’s all part of the human experience and I honestly enjoy all of it.”
In college, both her undergraduate and graduate majors were in bioengineering, and as an undergraduate she also had the equivalent of a mechanical engineering degree, but fell one course short of obtaining it. Nonetheless, Yager’s true interests lie in the field of biomechanics.
Recently, Yager has been working closely with a professor at Stanford whose interest is in chemical biology, specifically on the research of biofilms (such as plaque on your teeth, or what bacteria produce to create a sustainable community).
After over 35 years of researching biomechanics, studying asthma in the lungs and how it works mechanically, by chance, Yager had the opportunity to teach for a long-term substitute in a teacher’s place. Needing someone to teach the rest of the year, the school asked her if she was willing to take on the opportunity. Between jobs at the time, she decided to try it out and fell in love with it ever since.
“My favorite aspects of teaching are mainly developing relationships with students, getting to know students and their interests, trying to inspire them to become scientists, and getting them to see the importance in having a basic science knowledge no matter what they decide to do in their lives,” she remarked.
Yager describes her dedication as a duty to give back to the world, training the next generation of scientists to improve the place we live in before it is too late. As a teacher, she strives to motivate her students and steer them on the right path.
“My students are everything to me, and that’s the privilege of being here. I get to know them and I get close to them,” she said, “One of the most satisfying parts about this job is having students come back to visit and stay in touch, and I’m now, finally, hearing back from students who are starting to graduate from college. My first group is starting to graduate, which is really exciting. I do hear from them occasionally, and several of them have gone on to science, which is extremely gratifying.”
Her students definitely acknowledge the effort Yager makes.
“She is fantastic,” said sophomore Eleanor Kaj. “She gets students energized and makes all these little jokes that make it relevant. She makes things a lot more interesting, even when students didn’t have interest in it before. She’s a great teacher with a genuine interest that she bestows upon her students.”
Although she is no longer in Yager’s class, junior Sophia Lam still has fond memories of sitting in that classroom.
“She was an amazing teacher. Even though her class was tough, she made it interesting, intriguing, and easy to understand,” she reminisced. “All her students love her because she’s considerate and understanding. She’s kind and is always there when you need her help.”
Yager ensures that her students are able to measure, calculate, and record properly by grading her labs seriously. This sets up students to prepare for the real work outside of school that involves accurate data.
“Inspire kids, give them a foundation to be able to think about these problems, because they’re serious and hard,” Yager explains. “Everybody needs a science background if they’re to know how to contribute and give back.”
Truly dedicated and passionate about her profession, Yager goes above and beyond. She is constantly contributing to society and giving back to the students of CVHS by taking weekends to spend with clubs and working to make the world a better place.
“‘Do what you love, and love what you do,’” she recited, “It’s seriously something I’ve been blessed to live by. . . I’ve really been able to do things I’ve actually had interest in.”
Some last words of wisdom she offered: “If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well.”