As the stress of registration hangs in the air around campus, students can feel supported by asking for help from their advisor. One specific Creighton advisor was able to combine her passions and interests to pursue a meaningful career path and hopes that she can inspire her own students to do the same.
Dr. Mary Ann Vinton is serving as the director of the Environmental Science Program and an Associate Professor in the Biology Department. Through her teaching style in her general biology and environmental science classes, it is evident that she has a passion for teaching students these concepts.
Vinton master’s training took place in Kansas, at Konza Prairie, where she explored the role of bison grazing and fire in tallgrass prairie landscapes.
Her research interests are in the areas of plant and ecosystem ecology. She enjoys studying grassland ecosystems and has spent her career working in either tallgrass prairie or dryer grasslands in the Great Plains
Vinton points to her past teachers as her inspiration to pursue the field of science.
“My high school had the ‘block’ system of instruction where you took a single class all day for 3 weeks. The school was run by Benedictine nuns who tend to have a keen appreciation for the environment and we had a fantastic science teacher who offered Ecology for seniors during the first 3 weeks of fall semester. We spent the entire time camping and doing field studies in southern Colorado and I was sold on ecology after that,” Vinton said.
While Vinton may be passionate about studying ecology, she is also passionate about teaching it to others. It was first in graduate school that she began teaching and realized just how, important, as well as challenging it is to teach well.
“[My favorite part of teaching is] when I finally figure out the best way to explain a difficult concept or I hit upon exactly the right example. I can see the realization dawning and the wheels turning in students’ heads which is very rewarding,” Vinton said.
Vinton says she is very happy with her career path now, but like many other students she was not always certain of her intended path.
“In college, I was a Biology major and, at one point, I thought I needed to have a major that was more specific or applied. I thought about switching to geology or to range science,” Vinton said.
She was able to overcome this uncertainty by working with her advisor to decide what area of biology she wanted to pursue. Vinton now returns the favor by advising many Creighton students on their own path through
the curriculum.
She has also enourages students to accompany her on joint research projetcs, noting field research as one of premiere ways to fully understand and apply classroom knowledge.
Professor Vinton serves as an example that while it may not always be easy, it is certainly possible to find a rewarding and fulfilling
career path.