Michael Talbot, a student at the University of Minnesota on track to receive a degree in Bioproducts and Biosystems, has always excelled in school.  When he was applying for the Alworth Memorial Scholarship as a student at Pine City High School, he listed among his admirable qualities the genuine desire to learn.

That passion has helped Michael define his educational and career paths.  And that path has brought him to helping develop better educational systems.  His interest in educational reform, like his curiosity in the sciences, started early.

“I started realizing that probably after elementary school when there were so many things that were interesting to me, but we didn’t talk about it,” he said. “We were memorizing and spelling and learning vocabulary.”

The divide between memorization and allowing students to follow their interests is central to Michael’s passion about educational system reform.

“Teaching is really about giving you the skills to learn other things later,” he argues. “You should come out of college with the ability to figure out problems on their own.  Education should not have the goal of teaching you everything.  It can’t.”

Michael’s thirst for knowledge is ravenous.  He will tell you that he is interested in simply everything.  Exploring a wide range of interests and considering multiple career fields is what ultimately brought him to feel passionate about the teaching field.

“I am passionate about education because I think that if I can learn how to educate people I can help people with their specific interests,” he said. “I have so many interests that I can’t settle down. I hope to help people focus their efforts so they can make a difference in a number of fields.”

Neither of Michael’s parents went to college and there were no other close family members with significant higher education experiences. So, at least academically, he looked up to his teachers.

“They were what I wanted to be,” he said.

Michael’s seventh-grade science teacher, Mr. Leustek, was particularly influential and clearly had an impact on his vision for a career in education.

“Mr. Leustek taught us all sorts of things but never expected us to memorize anything,” Michael recalled. “He just pushed us to learn as many things as we possibly could. He was eclectic. His style was different than everyone else. He had the most genuine desire to teach of any I have met.”

Michael balances his career in mentoring, tutoring, and teaching with his passion for science by studying Agricultural Engineering.  This expanding field includes the study of both classical ecology and civil engineering.  As seems to be the case with the evolving and merging fields of science, his program of study melds an array of engineering disciplines in the quest to solve complex problems for society.  Agricultural engineers are found in the career world as consultants, government employees, environmentalists, civil engineers, and teachers.  Michael’s specific interest lies in environmental issues.

During the summer of 2007, Michael worked in southern Minnesota surveying ravines as part of the Clean Water Legacy Act.  After college, Michael is considering the Teach for America Program.  He believes his college education has given him insights into the multitude of ways knowledge can be applied in the world.  Given this philosophy and his thirst for learning, he’ll be able to help his future students answer the age-old question, “When will I ever use this in life?”