A West Branch sixth-grade math and physical science teacher will be spending six weeks of his summer at the State Hygienic Laboratory as a recipient of a Real World Externship, an initiative of the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council.

Bill Gelhaus

Through these externships, educators work during the summer months in the business environment learning skills in math, science and technology-related areas. The insight gained from the experience can then be shared with students in the classroom setting.

Bill Gelhaus, West Branch Community School District, begins his summer stint with the Hygienic Laboratory on June 16. Gelhaus will spend time with laboratorians in many different disciplines, including limnology, environmental microbiology, bacteriology and radio chemistry.

“We need to be connecting the classroom to those real world experiences and situations so students understand the importance of what we want them to learn in the classroom,” Gelhaus said on his externship application.

“I hope to take the experience of this program and connect it to lessons of skills or knowledge,” he added. “Those personal experiences can be so valuable when teaching because students listen to those personal experiences and many times see the importance of what is being taught to them.”

Additional information about the externship program is available on the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council website.