Juan Carrera Espinoza

Courses:

Chemistry 101

About Juan

Hi, my name is Juan J. Carrera Espinoza. I am a full-time faculty in the Department of Chemistry. It has been a pleasure to teach the Introductory Chemistry course (Chem 101) for all-majors students for over 7 years. I am male, first-generation college student. I have a personal connection to language learning, as I studied English as a second language here at SBCC. I am a native Spanish speaker, born in Jalisco Mexico. This experience fuels my empathy and dedication to helping students excel in their learning endeavors. I am committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive learning environment for all students.

Prior to joining SBCC as a Chemistry instructor, I taught adult high school and GED for over three years at the Wake and Schott campuses. This teaching experience taught me to exercise empathy, patience and support while empowering students to achieve their educational goals. My time in adult high school education has enriched my teaching philosophy and deepened my dedication to serving students of all ages and backgrounds on their educational journey.

My educational background began in Mexico where I completed the equivalent of high school at Instituto Technologico de Cd. Guzman. At SBCC, I obtained my ESL degree, my AA in Mathematics and AS in Physics. Then, I was able to transfer to the University of Kansas, (Once a Jayhawk, always a Jayhawk !!) in Lawrence Kansas where I completed my bachelor and PhD degrees in Chemistry. Fortunately, I had an opportunity to live and work for about three years in Taipei, Taiwan where I completed some postgraduate work at the National Taiwan University.

On campus, I enjoy volunteering in community outreach activities related to science education and chatting and working alongside other colleagues.