Leanne West’s experience as a woman in STEM

Leanne West (Photo courtesy of: Leanne West)

By Tessa Tappe, Staff Writer 

Leanne West, a Maria Carrillo High School science teacher and alumni, has always had her eye on a STEM career. As she has thrived in a science-based environment, she is now the AP Environmental Science teacher and simultaneously a track and field and cross country coach. Currently, West is doing what she is most passionate about, spreading her love for science to her students at MCHS. 

West’s admiration towards science began at Rincon Valley Middle School, where her Life Science teacher, Ms. Laurel Varnbuller, made the experience enjoyable and special for her. Entering high school, she took numerous science courses and had another teacher, Ms. Teri O’Donnell, who made science more accessible to her. “Ms. Teri O'Donnell was my honors biology and AP Biology teacher at MCHS that was significantly inspiring and it became a pleasure to teach alongside Teri toward the end of her teaching career,” West explained. “The sciences at MCHS paved the way for what I wanted to further study in college”. 

After graduating from high school in 2007, West had a stressful time trying to figure out where she wanted to go, to balance her academic needs with her athletic needs, as she wanted to continue running. However, after visiting California Polytechnic State University, she felt it checked all the boxes for pursuing both track and cross country, while completing her undergraduate in biology in five years. 

After completing her biology undergraduate, West stayed at Cal Poly and got her master's degree in plant genetics. During that time, she taught college classes to make money and discovered she loved teaching. “It was really enjoyable working with kids of all ages and sharing that love of learning and love of science,” said West. 

She initially started working in a lab as part of her graduate work and spent time breeding plants and doing analysis. West explained, “ I ran DNA and RNA tests to better understand the genes involved in determining the flower color of the offspring.”

 But she concluded that this career path wasn’t for her. “It was too quiet and lonely, there weren't a lot of social interactions,” she explained. So instead of pursuing a lab base or research and development base type of career, she took a different approach and got her teaching credential. 

West is currently teaching AP Environmental Science and Honors Living Earth. Though she's always been passionate about the life sciences, she says she has grown in appreciation for environmental science because she believes it’s relevant to teach students how to play a role within their natural systems. 

Outside of the classroom, West helps to coach the MCHS track and cross country team, because she was a student-athlete at MCHS and Cal Poly. West explains, “It's a nice way to share my love of running with the kids but also to be outside and have fun with them.” 

As a coach and teacher at MCHS, her passion for both running and science is near-palpable. For West, “it’s really special to give back to a community that has given me so much when I was a student”.