Lindsey’s Story
Before deciding to become a mathematics teacher, Lindsey Quinlisk planned to pursue a career in civil engineering. She completed a BS in engineering with civil specialty at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colo., where she received the Leo Borasio Memorial Award for Outstanding Junior in the McBride Honors Program. As part of the program, she spent a month in Brazil interviewing political leaders, professors and professionals while researching sustainable development and cultural diversity. As an intern with the Matrix Design Group, she assisted senior engineers on projects including retaining wall design, roadway manhole design checks and water line surveys.
Lindsey enjoyed engineering but kept thinking about teaching. “Teaching is one field which has the most impact on the next generation, a career that gives birth to future doctors, politicians, engineers, and teachers. I would not want to miss such an incredible opportunity to participate in this breeding ground for change.” She went on to earn her teaching certificate from Stanford University.
Lindsey is currently teaching geometry and AP calculus AB. She is part of school-wide and district-wide leadership teams to implement a dual formative assessment and standards-based grading system. She enjoys supporting the students in their extra-curricular activities and participating in faculty lip syncs and dramas that raise money for student clubs.
Math is the common vernacular between the rhythms of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, the equations of Newton’s laws of motion, the proportions in Michelangelo’s statue of David, and the parametric curves of Watson and Crick’s double helix model of DNA.