DownEast American Industrial Hygiene Association
News from Sharon D'Orsie: 1/29/07
To all DEAIHA members –
A technical trip to China in 1999 determined my future as a teacher. By the time the dream became a reality, I had completed thirty years of service as a safety, environment and health professional. While continuing to work as an industrial hygienist and safety professional, I “nibbled away” at a Master of Science in Education at the University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas. At the very end of the program, I spotted an advertisement in Professional Safety for a faculty position at the University of Southern Maine, in Environmental Safety and Health. Landing that job brought me to Maine in 2002.
Although I loved teaching at the University, something wasn’t quite right. In September, I started a new job as a high school chemistry teacher, in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. I think I finally got the teaching career “right” for me.
Although it sounds corny, I really have been a woman on a mission since my trip to China. My mission, for my next fifteen years or so of employment, is to introduce high school students to the career opportunities in chemistry and engineering. I don’t know one graduate and certified/licensed chemist or engineer who, being open to relocation and continuing education, is voluntarily unemployed.
Today, 60 % of all the bachelor degrees in China are awarded in science and engineering; 46% are in engineering. In the United States, 31% of all bachelor degrees are awarded in science and engineering; 5% are in engineering.
My work is still important. Only now, I get to work inside and I don’t have to climb any scaffolds or towers while holding monitoring equipment.
Sharon M. D’Orsie, CIH, CSP