New biology teacher and published author Kit Pfeifer began working at North this year, marking her 15th year of teaching. Before coming to North, Pfeifer taught biology at all five U-46 high schools.
As a freshman biology teacher, she enjoys teaching the subject and believes the class is important for students to learn more about the world around them.
“I don’t expect my students to necessarily become scientists,” said Pfeifer. “Hopefully some do, but even if they become a lawyer, or they’re a writer, or even whatever they’re doing, I want them to be able to look at science and understand it. So if we have a pandemic, or climate change is happening, they’ll understand the science behind it and be informed and make informed decisions when they’re going to vote or, you know, being a part of society.”
Pfeifer originally majored in marine biology at Eckerd College in Saint Petersburg, Florida.
“[I’ve] wanted to be a marine biologist since I was very little,” said Pfeifer. “The program was actually pretty challenging, but I decided to stick with it.”
She eventually earned a master’s degree in biology and transitioned into teaching later on.
Aside from her career in teaching and biology, Pfeifer is also a published author of multiple historical fiction novels under the pen name Kit Sergeant.
She creates novels that specifically focus on female historical figures, often ones that may have gone unnoticed in history books and education. She has books following characters during the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and World Wars I and II.
“My goal for my writing is for people to learn about women that they never heard of, because they are real women, and they were really brave in their sacrifices,” said Pfeifer. “I like to bring these women that no one’s ever heard of and people that read my books are like, ‘Oh, wow, that woman was so brave, I had no idea she existed.’”
Pfeifer originally was aiming for science writing to accompany her interest in science and degree in marine biology, even interning at the National Zoological Park where she wrote for their magazine.
“With my marine biology degree, I was going for science writing, so I’ve always been a writer,” said Pfeifer. “Then I moved over to historical fiction, because I’ve always been interested in history as well.”
Pfeifer is currently working on her fifth World War II novel, after publishing her fourth over the summer.
For those interested in her novels, her books will be available to read in the LRC starting early next week.
This far into the school year, Pfeifer has enjoyed her time at North, appreciating the sense of community and looking forward to the future.
“I’m building more relationships with the community of the high school,” said Pfeifer. “The staff and the students are very refreshing, it’s a nice change.”
