(The following is the third in a series of question and answer profiles of the Academic state contest directors.)
Linda Gaul, Science State Co-Director
How did you first become involved in UIL?
I was teaching general biology courses at UT. The department chairman got a call from someone at UIL asking for the name of a faculty member who would be good for the job of biology contest director and who also might be interested. My chairman gave my name to the UIL caller. (I believe that was Janet Wiman, or someone working in her of- fice.)
Have you always specialized in Biology?
Yes; it’s my favorite subject!
What do you do in your time away from UIL?
I work at the Texas Department of State Health Services. I also do some content accuracy review work and writing for high school biology textbook publishing companies. I am an epidemiologist at the state health department. Specifically, I am in the Infectious Disease Control Unit and head of the Foodbourne Illness Team. I work with other staff members to conduct disease surveillance statewide, track trends, and look for exposure factor patterns. I also conduct disease outbreak investigations, which are very interesting and exciting!
(But we don’t fly around in helicopters as you might think if you watch certain shows on TV.)
I also respond to inquiries from the public about any aspect of infectious disease spread, control, data, etc.
What do you do for fun?
I enjoy gardening, sewing (especially quilting, though I don’t seem to have much time for it), and travelling.
My husband is in the military, so I like to travel with him to new places. I also spend time with my children, who are all in their 20s but still enjoy doing things with me.
I feel very lucky!
What’s your favorite part of being involved with UIL?
I love to see the enthusiasm students have for learning and for science in particular — my favorite subject!
Do you have a favorite type of problem to put on the UIL science tests?
I try not to asks questions that are just rote memorization and rather try to ask questions that you could figure out if you don’t remember the answer. I occasionally ask application questions, where students might have to put information from one or more places into a new situation. It challenges students to go beyond what they’ve been told and read .
What skills do students acquire from the UIL science tests?
I think that students broaden their understanding of science. The more times you hear things, and the more varied the ways are that you hear about it, the better your understanding of the material will be.
Also, being asked questions makes you tend to think of questions yourself, and then you try to find answers to those questions. It snowballs into a lot of learning!
Why is it important for students to participate?
I think it’s important for students to participate, obviously, for the challenge of UIL and for the possibility of more and/or better choices for college than might otherwise be possible. B u t I a l s o t h i n k i t ’s i m p o r t a n t because it exposes students to other students, as well as secondary school and university teachers, who are also interested in science. They are all curious, and being around other curious people is a very stimulating experience. It’s especially great when so much of the world doesn’t seem to care much about the process and rigors of science and what it has done to expand our understanding of the world around us. And that’s not even talking about how much it has improved our lives! All-in-all, it’s a great thing.