All About Me

Taking field notes on a field trip for Petrology

        My name is Andy Sparks.  I have been honestly enjoying my time here at Grand Valley State University.  I am excited to finally be in the K-12 classroom putting things I have learned and talked about for the past 4 years into practice.  I am an Earth Science major and History minor.  I have always really enjoyed spending time outside which helped me decide on the major.  Swimming, hiking, rock climbing, skiing, and other activities are some of my favorites and I even enjoyed collecting and classifying bugs as a kid.  I picked a history minor because I wanted to have a "diverse" resume.  I am interested to see how that strategy pans out as I pursue teaching jobs next year.

My wife, Christina, and I in Norway

       I was placed at Vista Charter Academy for the semester in a 7th and 8th grade science class.  The school is a K-8 charter school and is part of the National Heritage Academy schools across the country.  I have gotten along very well with my cooperating teacher and the rest of the teachers in the wing.  I am looking forward to teaching a lesson on mixtures and solutions next week!  I also had a great time at the boys soccer game Wednesday afternoon.

Enjoying time with friends in Bristol.

 

Following the footsteps of Rey from
StarWars: The Force Awakens
off the coast of Ireland

   

      I was very happy to celebrate my 3 year wedding anniversary in August with my wife, Christina.  We both love to travel and had a blast in the late spring on a 4 week trip to Europe.  Our favorite stops were the west coast of Ireland, a national park in Norway, and spending time with good friends of ours in Bristol.