Prepared to explore the world outside of teaching

Ms. Heidi Bowbin Science Teacher

child deserves a champion—an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.”

I have wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember. My father was a high school teacher and growing up I was inspired by the impact he had on his students and athletes. This impact is what moved me to choose education as a career and what has fueled my 34 years as a teacher and coach. To do what I can in the time I have with each student to help them achieve their potential has been my guiding light.

I absolutely love teaching science. Science requires students to engage in the world around them. It requires curiosity and wonder. It requires ruling out that which cannot be to arrive at a solution based on sound reasoning and principles. It is beautiful in its symmetry.

For 34 years I have taught all realms of chemistry, from Experimental Methods to AP Chemistry and Crime Science. It is my hope that I sparked my students’ interests in the world around them and helped prepare those who have gone on to college for the rigors of science at the university level. I will let you in on a little secret, however: while I do enjoy teaching chemistry, my true passion has been teaching students to persevere when the going gets tough.

What I did not expect after over three decades of teaching is to have learned as much from my students as they have learned from me. To have achieved this balanced equation after 34 years has been serendipitous and sustaining.

Working in the Science Department at Maine South with a wondrous, motley, and beautiful cast of characters has been a privilege and joy. When people ask me how I do it, I say all things are possible when you work with colleagues who at their core are kind, generous in heart, and courageous. Thank you, Maine South Science for your compassion, your humor, and friendship all these years. I have had the good fortune of making lifelong friends who have been with me through all of life’s ups and downs. I am in your debt. You are all champions.

Gymnastics has been a part of my life since I was four years old, and I competed at a high level through high school and college. I was so grateful back in 1989 when I was not only hired as a teacher, but also as the Head Girls’ Gymnastics Coach. I coached for 10 years, stepped back to raise my family, returned as assistant coach six years ago, and then took over the program as Head Coach two years later. It truly has been a full-circle experience for me. There is nothing like the relationship you have as a coach with student athletes. I cherish the relationships I have had with the gymnasts I have coached over the years. They have taught me resilience, kept me young, and added a special spark to my time at Maine South. I will forever be grateful to have had the opportunity to help shape their lives.

While the days at times have seemed long, the years have been short—and these 34 years have sped by in a bleary blink of an eye. As my teaching journey comes to an end, I am filled with gratitude for the opportunity to have played a part in the lives of students, student-athletes and colleagues. In the classroom and the arena, I have been blessed in more ways than I can count. Thank you for being my champion.