Exploring the backstories of Richard Montgomery’s Dr.s

by Mayah Nachman ASSISTANT CENTERSPREAD EDITOR

Following high school graduation, many students have plans to go to university to earn a degree. A PhD is the highest level degree one can achieve and requires scholars to research and write about topics that relate to their field of study.

At RM, many teachers have earned this degree along with other work experience.

RM’s Media Specialist Dr. Michelle Alexander originally wanted to be a veterinarian. She earned her first bachelors degree at Tuskegee University in animal science. While in vet school, she realized it wasn’t her passion. She transferred to Howard University where she received her bachelor’s in broadcast journalism.

She worked as a journalist and performed public relations for Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery for the SCLC, the civil rights organization founded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Eventually, she began substituting and earned her masters in education from the University of Maryland.

Attending law school was on her bucket list, so she decided to pursue family law and has been practicing full time for 18 years.

In addition to her small law practice, Dr. Alexander works in the media center, helping students find sources and books to read. “Students should be able to see themselves in a book that’s in this library,” Dr. Alexander said.

Dr. Peter Perry teaches instrumental music and is RM’s band director.

His aspiration to become a band director started in seventh grade at an overnight band camp.

He admired teachers who helped improve his trumpet skills. “I was inspired by watching them devote themselves to somebody else’s improvement,” Dr. Perry said.

He worked in high school to perfect his music skills and received a full scholarship to the University of Maryland, earning his bachelor’s in music education.

At UMD, he played in the band, was the instrument manager and took conducting classes.

Later, he worked towards his masters in music education with a concentration in conducting— teaching during the day and taking classes at night. He acquired his doctorate in musical arts at Shenandoah University.

He believes that having a doc- torate helped him find opportunities, including teaching at the Catholic University of America and writing a book published by Oxford University Press.

In addition, forensics and biology teacher Dr. Karl Kovacs has a PhD in biochemistry from the University of South Florida.

He obtained his bachelors in chemistry from Gannon University, originally planning to become a doctor. As he studied, he became more interested in the laboratory aspect of science. “I had a passion for research and gaining information using inquiry and experimentation,” Dr. Kovacs said.

This led him to work towards his masters and research doctorate in a laboratory. He worked at OriGene for 17 years and helped discover genes with proteins linked to diseases and cancer.

He was involved in finding the largest collection of full length human genes in the world. “To look back and say I was part of that and the discovery makes me smile,” Dr. Kovacs said.

As time went on, he worked in a managerial role and became less involved in laboratory research. He began missing his previous involvement in science, leading to his career switch to education. “I enjoyed [teaching], and happy birthday to evelyn, mr. mcdermott and my grandma.

[students] enjoyed what I did. I was able to relate science to virtually anyone,” Dr. Kovacs said. Obtaining a high degree allows teachers to further develop their interest, while teaching allows them to inspire and pass down their knowledge to students.

“I still find the values that I searched for at the beginning [through teaching] when sharing stories about science and being at the forefront of creativity,” Dr. Kovacs said.

Raha Murtuza, junior

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