David Taus, TAC, High School Biology

THE FACTS:David grew up in Milwaukee, WI, where he spent the school year asking “impertinent questions,” and the summer leading camping trips in Northern Wisconsin. His questioning continued at Brown University, where he earned a degree in psychology. Since moving to Boston in the summer of 2001, David has paid his bills by working with Citizen Schools, teaching job and life skills to cognitively disabled adults, and assisting with biochemical genetic research at Children's Hospital. He has kept otherwise busy by creating, producing, and hosting his very own radio program every Tuesday night on a local noncommercial station, as well as playing in local Ultimate Frisbee leagues. He risks life and limb daily by commuting on his bicycle in Boston traffic, where the wind always seems to blow directly into his face.

David wants to be a teacher because of “the generous salaries and certain celebrity status.”

THE INSIDE SCOOP:

“I am amazed at how accessible professors, advisors, and mentors are both within the program as well as the university at large. It's nice to know that when you need to talk with a professor, generally speaking, they are available and willing to meet with you.”

“Teaching is the only prescriptive means of bettering society. Other lines of work react to bad things that have already happened; good education can prevent these bad things from happening in the first place.”