 "Photo: Jacqueline Lambert")
 "Photo: Courtsey Photo Steve Brumbaugh")
With no direction as to degree, Steve Brumbaugh journeyed his way out of high school to Everett Community college. He left Everett as a transfer student to WSU with enough credits to be considered a sophomore. After 2 years he joined the US Navy for 5 years earning an E7 rank and miscellaneous certificates and credits after completing various US navy schools. It is in the Navy that Steve Brumbaugh fell in love with the idea of teaching. He was a hospital corpsman working in a Navy Hospital as a general duty corpsman and a physical therapy technician.
Finally he completed his formal education back at WSU securing a Masters degree in biology. In the years before starting his tenure at Green River in 2003, Brumbaugh worked at various local community colleges. When asked what he loved about his job the most he replied, "I find the most fascinating [thing] is the different ways in which students express an understanding of the concept in biology."
Through his PowerPoint lectures and structured lab activities, students learn the concepts of biology and thoroughly understand these concepts, or at least he hopes. He strongly believes that he can teach a group of students the same information in the same way but receive "ten different statements."
The general repertoire of each individual is reflected in the responses that are provoked by the information the individual receives. "Attempting to figure out how to reach each of my students at their individual levels," he says "entertains [him]." Mr. B also enjoys the diversity of students he sees every quarter, adding that his oldest student was 56 and his youngest just 16.
The eagerness to learn is what drives his teaching and he feels that it is his responsibility to, "arouse some understanding in their souls about my love for biology and life around them." If he can accomplish this one thing he "will be successful."
Whether it's shooting you with a Nerf gun the first day of class to learn names or embarrassing you when your cell phone goes off in class, Mr. B continually interacts with his students in a positive manner in order to keep the learning atmosphere open and welcoming in class.
In the 10 years Mr. B has been teaching Biology at Green River he has soaked his "sponge-like" students with as much knowledge as they can hold but at the same time he has seen his "room get brighter when students struggle with, in their mind, difficult concepts and slowly they begin to put together the key points to understand."
If Steve Brumbaugh could leave you with one thing it would be the phrase he coined: "Never get educated beyond your intelligence, but maximize your gifts."
is a member of the 
Be the first to comment on this article!