With fizzling chemicals and clinking beakers, the majority are unaware that their new teacher has studied at the widely renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
“When I entered high school, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted from my experience,” Michael Stopper said. “When I took chemistry, everything just made sense; to clarify, think of chemistry as the smallest building project you could take on.”
Stopper is the newest addition to the science department at Ocean Lakes, teaching core and AP Chemistry. Stopper graduated from high school in the top 5% of his class with a ranking of 17 out of roughly 400 students. He applied to a few schools for his undergraduate degree; however, he already knew where he wanted to go: Randolph-Macon College. While fitting his academic needs, it also provided a place for him to play baseball, his favorite sport.
‘To find a place that suited my learning style and academic rigor while being able to continue playing the game I love was the greatest combination I could dream of,” Stopper said.
There, Stopper majored in chemistry, and he later attended University of Virginia (UVA) for his graduate degree. After studying at UVA for a year, he moved to Boston, Massachusetts with a research team to study organic chemistry. This led to an opportunity for Stopper to leave UVA and attend MIT for graduate school, which is something he always wanted, but intimidation held him back due to the intense competition at the school.
“I would have loved to go to MIT for [graduate] school but I had no chance. I didn’t even apply. It’s not that I didn’t have the smarts,“ Stopper said. “My boss told me, ‘I think you have the smarts to be able to do stuff there,’ but I didn’t have the resume for a place like that.”
The diversity of MIT has given him experiences that not many people get in their college years.
“I’ve met a bunch of people from all over the world, like every continent, just because of MIT, and that’s why it is so great. You meet people from literally every walk of life,” Stopper said. “They all have different experiences, and they all bring different knowledge to the table.”
Stopper graduated from MIT in May and became a teacher at Ocean Lakes High School in July after receiving an offer for the position by assistant principal and academy coordinator Michael King. Other teachers have already noticed the positive impact of Stopper’s presence in the science department.
“It’s so great having him here because he’s such a knowledgeable chemist who shares the same joy of teaching as me,” chemistry teacher Jennifer Estabrook said.
Even though Stopper’s initial goal wasn’t to pursue teaching, his success is showing so far, creating a positive atmosphere for students to thrive in chemistry.
“The way Mr. Stopper teaches is really good because he teaches us the material well by also keeping it fun,” junior Addison Duprey said.
