Biology teacher Katherine Pugar initially wanted to become a biologist before changing her major to teaching.

“I realized I wanted to teach when I became the teaching assistant for a biology class in college,” Pugar said. ”I love kids, so I wanted to spend every day around children and teaching. Finding different ways to explain concepts was super fun and rewarding.”

Pugar grew up in Shaler. Before she went to Pitt’s main campus for her master’s, she went to Pitt-Johnstown for her undergrad degree.

“I loved the Johnstown branch. It was in the woods, and it was very pretty. My class size was pretty small, and I really enjoyed that. If I was absent, my professors would literally email me and be like, ‘Hey, are you OK?’ ” 

Pugar sometimes can get stage fright when talking in front of audiences. She gets over it by telling herself that she might as well try to do well if she’s going to do it at all.

“I kind of just say, ‘You’re here. It’s going to happen.’ If I mess up, stutter, or I say the wrong thing, I’m honest,” she said. “I’m like ‘Hey, sorry, this is what I actually meant,’ and I just keep going.”

She has learned that if she’s passionate while teaching, her students will be more focused and interested in the subject.

“The more I’m interested in it, and the more that I give examples and my own experience, and explain things differently, I noticed that students get more excited about it,” Pugar said. “I definitely include play a lot in my methods too. Students need to be up and moving and working together, and playing games. It helps.”

Outside of her work and studies, Pugar also danced for 18 years.

“My favorite was hip hop,” she said. “But I would also do contemporary jazz, and I did tap for a little too. Tap was not my favorite, though.”