Christian Copley Salem
Dr. Christian Copley SalemBiochemistry ProfessorLiberal Arts and SciencesHow many college chemistry professors have a World鈥檚 Strongest Man competitor as their coach? Better yet, how many teachers create a free workbook for students or eliminate subsequent costs by providing students with lab coats and goggles as part of their tuition. |
Dr. Christian Copley Salem does all of that and more as a 糖心vlog chemistry professor. He鈥檚 very dedicated to his teaching profession and wants his students to enjoy learning as much as he fancies mentoring them.
鈥淭eachers have always been responsible for transmitting the collective knowledge of humanity forward. This is an intimate process that requires the establishment of trust and the empowering of students to move forward with confidence,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat I love about teaching is that moment of interaction where someone who was once confused is now confident.鈥�
Dr. Copley Salem hasn鈥檛 always been a teacher during his professional career. He previously worked as a store manager while pursuing his dream of teaching college students.
Q: What is your background and how did you end up at 糖心vlog?
Dr. Copley Salem: I wanted to be a college professor for my entire life. My goal in getting a higher-level degree was to become a college professor, specifically, a community college professor. I attended a community college and it was one of the better college experiences that I had, so I wanted to become one. I got a degree in pharmacology and right as I did that, COVID happened. One of the professors here retired, so right at that moment I was looking for jobs and I got it. Then, I had to apply again for the tenure track position of it, so I got this job twice.
I have an Associate degree in Science from Truckee Meadows Community College (2008) and I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Science Biology from University of Nevada, Reno (2011) and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology (2019) from UNR.
Q: Why do you like teaching at 糖心vlog?
Dr. Copley Salem: The students! Just in the interactions with the students. They are so excited to be here, especially with Jump Start; they are very excited to be above their peers learning college information. It is very exciting to watch them adapt and adjust to the way college life is because it鈥檚 very different than high school. It鈥檚 dramatic. Just being able to interact with them and mentor them, not just in chemistry, but this is how college works and these are the things you can expect going forward, if you go on to a university.
Q: Was there a teacher or a class that inspired you to become an educator?
Dr. Copley Salem: I have to give a shout-out to Mr. Quick from my sophomore year geometry class. He taught math with an excitement in a way that I had not experienced in other math classes. You don鈥檛 think of math classes being the exciting, enjoyable experience, but it was for me. Ever since then I thought it would be cool to be the teacher who could instill that kind of excitement in my students. That鈥檚 probably why I鈥檓 here, too, because it was math, and there鈥檚 Math involved in chemistry and it鈥檚 all tied together. It鈥檚 all Mr. Quick鈥檚 fault!
Q: Why would students want to enroll in your classes?
Dr. Copley Salem: The reason you would want to take chemistry from me would be from the immersion and having the opportunity to interact with me and learn things not just about chemistry but about the way college works and the way to move forward in college, specifically with chemistry. I really enjoy teaching and I want my students to enjoy learning from me, so I spend a lot of time putting energy into things that will help them enjoy what they are doing. I don鈥檛 want them coming to class and saying, 鈥淯gh, just another day in chemistry!鈥� That鈥檚 the last thing I want.
Q: What safeguards do you have in place for your labs to ensure the safety of your students?
Dr. Copley Salem: The majority of it is you design experiments, particularly for 100 level students, where the worse that they could do is get a small burn on their arm from something. We鈥檙e working with chemicals that aren鈥檛 super toxic, and if we do, there is one lab that uses lead, it鈥檚 just a constant reminder: This is lead, don鈥檛 mess around, right? Wear gloves, make sure you have your goggles on. I鈥檓 constantly reminding them, 鈥淢ake sure your goggles are on, make sure your lab coats are on and everything.鈥� What makes labs challenging to teach is that you are constantly reminding them to be safe. It鈥檚 a process of learning things that you aren鈥檛 used to. Goggles are irritating, they fog up, the kind of stuff that makes you want to take them off. I have to demonstrate that if I have to have mine on, they have to have theirs on.
Q: There are a number of compelling reasons to pursue teaching as a career. Can you talk about what might inspire college students to become teachers?
Dr. Copley Salem: Being a teacher is a reward, and you really get out of it as much as you put in. If someone is looking for an academic-based job that gives them the opportunity to pour themselves into it what they put into it, teaching is it. Because you will get the reward based on the amount of effort you put in. And that can be a lot.
I spent the whole summer writing a new workbook for the 121 class so they wouldn鈥檛 have to buy one. My goal is to make the class as small in financial impact as possible, and at this point, they don鈥檛 pay for anything outside of their tuition. I basically give them everything for free for lots of different reasons. College is notoriously expensive after you pay for tuition. You have the ability to impact people鈥檚 lives and that extra work that you put in pays dividends for them, which is really rewarding. Especially when I tell them that you don鈥檛 have to pay for a lab coat and goggles. I have them in the back and I鈥檒l just pass them out, and tell them that their yours and you can keep them. And they go, 鈥淥h, really?鈥�
Q: What is something unusual or unique that students don鈥檛 know about you?
Dr. Copley Salem: My current students know everything they need to know about me.
I do weight-lifting. That鈥檚 a thing people like to know. I have a World鈥檚 Strongest Man professional as a coach. He doesn鈥檛 mess around, so I don鈥檛 either. So, four times a week I go to the gym and lift heavy stuff. It鈥檚 fun and I enjoy it. It keeps me from feeling my age.
I have competed 3-4 times, mostly in the Reno area. My coach competes in World Strongest Man so his whole focus is to compete and to get me to compete.
Everything else I do is very academic. I like to read, I collect books. I hang out in used book stores because they smell nice.
View Copley's Class Schedule