Alum Spotlight: Liz Hodgson '22
Liz Hodgson graduated from Barnard in 2022. She arrived at Barnard as an international student, having grown up in Toronto, Canada. “Even though I was born in Canada, my family is American and was pushing me towards American colleges. I was thinking about college size and I was interested in women’s colleges because we need to spend time thinking about systems and programs designed specifically for women. It was the urban campus but small school that was the perfect Venn diagram for me to come here.”
Liz knew she wanted to be involved in education: “I was floating around maybe with a psychology major, but I always had a deep passion for being a part of education, and I think being in the public school system is so important and deserves attention.” She ended up pursuing two academic programs, finding excitement in the developing neuroscience major while also carving out her niche in the urban teaching track, where she was one of eight students in her year’s cohort.
The urban teaching program at Barnard enables students to be eligible for certification to teach in New York without a master’s degree. As part of the certification process, students must work full-time at a public school in New York during their senior year. Liz reflected on her experience working at Harvest Collegiate High School, a smaller charter school near Union Square: “It was cool working at a small, deeply urban school that was a magnet for special education learners. Almost every class had co-teachers, which is common in schools where the special ed population is high.”
With regards to professors that had a significant impact on her, Liz felt that the “two intro chemistry professors, Rachel Austin and Dina Merrer, do a really good job of supporting students who are a little worried about higher level science courses. Those two made me feel like I was a part of the STEM community at Barnard. Especially with the small classes, I think [they] made me feel more confident about being a woman in STEM at Barnard.” For her thesis, she found a research position at the Environment, Brain, and Behavior Lab within Columbia University Irving Medical Center, where she worked with 18 years of behavioral data from a cohort of children and studied various factors such as socioeconomic status.
Liz was able to combine her passion for STEM and education through the science teaching track, preparing her to teach science to high schoolers after graduation. Currently, she lives and works in the Capitol region just outside Albany. Reflecting on living in New York City for college, she shared, “One thing about living in Manhattan during undergrad… you’ll learn if it’s for you or not for you. It is great for college, there’s lots to do, but [after four years] I was ready for the suburbs. I wouldn’t tell people to not have the experience in New York City, though.” While Liz is enjoying being a teacher, in the future, she hopes to find a role that centers around the discussion of equity within education.
When asked to give advice to prospective Barnard students, she said, “I think the number one thing is taking a leap of faith in yourself. It may seem that Barnard is so intimidating and all these women are so accomplished. It’s really about getting self confidence and giving it a go and working hard. A lot of women unfortunately lack that self-confidence, and that’s why Barnard is especially helpful because there are undertones of empowerment and there is academic and mental support. Certainly, I took multiple leaps doing everything, but you have to believe you can do it and reach [out] for support along the way.”
Source: Interview conducted by Tanisha Reddy ‘24