Deb Pasewark - Physics & Education Grad

“It runs in the family.”

The catchall phrase can be associated with anything from the ability to sink a shot from half-court to fair skin and freckles to high blood pressure.

In Deb Pasewark’s case, it’s physics. Both her father and her uncle studied it in college, so she’s grown up with an inclination toward the sciences.

Deb is interested in many different academic areas, but she chose physics as a major because, she says, “I would miss science the most if I didn't pursue it as a career. I'll always have the opportunity to write or play instruments or sing on my own, but I wouldn't be able to enjoy science at the same level without further education.”

Busyness must also run in Deb's family. With such a broad range of interests, she didn't hold back when it came to taking advantage of the many opportunities offered both in and outside class at Geneva. Aside from the fact that the physics major is flexible enough for Deb to have paired it with another in education, it also left room for her to be involved in Geneva's marching band, jazz band, concert band, Genevans choir, a smaller singing group called Reflection and the student-led swing-dance club.

In addition, Deb had the chance to be a teaching assistant for two Geneva classes: Physics and Differential Equations as well as Teaching Elementary Science, gaining valuable experience that will supplement her education double-major.

“I never would have had this opportunity at a bigger institution,” Deb says, “and the experience has been a wonderful preparation for teaching high-school physics. I've grown more comfortable in front of people, and I've also developed many ideas and methods I want to take with me to my own classroom and students.”

Deb also appreciated Geneva’s distinctive approach to education.

“Even though Geneva is a Christian school, the education classes are not specific to teaching Christian kids,” she says. “We learn that all students deserve our best because they are God's image-bearers. We learn strategies and methods for teaching in any situation, public or private.”

To further prepare herself, Deb worked and volunteered at Kopernik Observatory and Roberson Museum and Science Center, both in Binghamton, N.Y., helping to run their summer science and astronomy camps for high-schoolers.

“Astronomy is a part of physics,” she says, “so it’s a good way to use and further my education.”

- by Brooke Prokopchak ('08)

Deb Pasewark graduated from Geneva with a double major in physics and education.

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