From a young age, Ariel Harman’s curiosity about everything from plants to art has shaped her interests and her future.
In high school, Harman’s curiosity led her to get involved. She joined the former Strategy Club and learned to play games like Dungeons & Dragons or chess based around strategic moves. A curiosity about the Japanese animation style led her to become the leading member of Anime Club.
High school electives led her to pursue art. When she feels stressed, Harman turns to art and the pleasure that she finds in creating pieces through this process.
“It’s nice because [someone] can visualize something in [their] head, pull up a reference, put it on paper, and [know] that [they] made that from nothing,” said Harman.
Through presentations and other projects in her animal science class, Harman discovered “[she loves] teaching people [material and] presenting information. [She] can convey it really well.”
Similarly, Harman has developed a deep interest in the field of biology. To engage herself farther into the subject, she has taken classes beyond those required such as large animal sciences, health science, and anatomy and physiology.The intricate nature and layers of science attract her to the subject, as well as the sheer variety of subfields and jobs that can come out of it.
This fall, she will attend East Tennessee State University with a major in biology and a minor in secondary education to pursue a career as a science teacher.
She also has a passion for raising awareness of endangered species and their importance in their respective environments. Specifically, Harman wants to speak out about species that are often considered dangerous and feared that are very important, such as sharks.
Her interest in animal science reflects back to her passion for art, as well, with many of her projects portraying animals. She says that drawing large animals such as sharks and dinosaurs are her favorite subjects for her pieces. It acts as the meeting place for her points of enjoyment: biology and the creative process of creating art. Together, her creative interest holds the ability to form an effective approach to teaching the science of the natural world.
Harman said, “I love the natural world, and I really [just] love animals and plants.”
