in his 20th year
B en T aylor DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS, SCIENCE DEPARTMENT B en Taylor’s first few weeks at Hopkins in the fall of 2003 were a big wake-up call. Having left graduate school anticipating a career in professional labs, he accepted a teaching position at Hopkins as a temporary stopgap. Taylor recalls long days with a lot to figure out about how to apply his own love of physics to teaching middle and high school students. Nonetheless, Taylor fell in love with teaching quickly, soon realizing that placing himself outside his comfort zone had been the right thing to do.
Reflecting back on these numerous roles, Taylor has found each uniquely rewarding, particularly Head Advising.
“(It is) a very powerful experience to be in loco parentis for that many people,” Taylor said. “To get to know that many families so well, to get to know the School and its people on that level has been incredible. Head advising is a role where you generally encounter children and families at their highest and lowest points. Helping people when they are really in trouble is an awesome thing to be able to do.” Taylor was Head Adviser to the classes of 2009 and 2012, which he considered “both really special classes.” More recently, Taylor has enjoyed working alongside Priscilla Encarnação and Josh Young as an integral member of the HARPS core teaching team, specifically the physics- interested students. In his current position as Director of Information Systems, Taylor is putting his analytical mind and problem-solving skills to work by leveraging the School’s technology in the classroom and behind the scenes to best serve the teachers and administrators and keep the school running smoothly. Taylor has seen Hopkins change over the last twenty years. “It’s gotten bigger—the student body, faculty, physical campus, the whole thing—and more open, more aware of how much the students have going on,” he said. “Part of me misses how small and close everything felt at one time. But being more aware of what’s happening around us is a good thing. We are less siloed and less insulated.” And despite shifting to a problem-solving role on the structural and technology side of Hopkins, the kids and physics are still what he’s most passionate about.
Physics has always been the thing he loves to think about, talk about, and play with.
“Physics is not something you talk about at parties,” said Taylor. “But there are students here who love it as much as I do,” he added. That has been the common thread over his twenty-year career, which he describes as “fulfilling and fun.” About every five years during his tenure, a new opportunity has presented itself, allowing Taylor to shift his focus and try something new to keep things interesting. “When I’ve said everything I have to say about something, I’ll go find something else to do, and let someone else take a turn,” he said. “Hopkins has afforded me those opportunities to stay engaged and not get stuck.” Over the past two decades, he has served many roles for the School: physics teacher, Field Hockey coach, adviser, Head Adviser, Director of Academic Technology, Hopkins Authentic Research Program in Science (HARPS) teacher, Malone Schools Online Network (MSON) Dean of Instruc- tion, Breakthrough/Pathfinder and summer school program teacher, and most recently, Director of Information Systems.
32
2023 • ISSUE 1 | VIEWS FROM THE HILL
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online