After receiving this email from the mother of Jade Laramée from Verbe Divin High School in Granby, we went to meet another woman of science. One of those who inspire young people every day to be curious and creative minds. A science and technology teacher like no other.

First love: physics

Like most of the young people she meets in her classes, Gabriela Cismas struggled to make a career choice as she approached the end of high school in Romania. “A teacher who was watching me do a physics exercise told me that I should continue my studies in pure physics. I understood then that it had become a passion.” She entered university in this field, then was recruited to teach in schools, while continuing her studies. “I remember being on vacation at my grandfather’s house and telling him, full of joy, how much I was looking forward to school starting again so that the students could see me again. He told me that it was a gift to have found what I loved to do. I have never stopped since.”

Destination: Granby

In 2003, Gabriela Cismas immigrated to Canada. “I grew up watching my grandparents of Hungarian origin being uprooted several times from Romania. I had in mind to leave the country when I was older. My husband saw an ad in the newspaper mentioning that engineers and teachers were being recruited in Quebec. It was an opportunity to make my dream come true. I put my finger on the map and we settled in Granby. Our son was 3 years old and I was 36.”

Teaching your passion

After completing a master's degree in teaching in her adopted country, Gabriela Cismas passed on her knowledge to young people in secondary 3 and 4. In recent years, she has taught physics, chemistry and biology to secondary 1 and 2 students. "I like them because they want to discover. Some like it, others don't. So I set up lunchtime workshops by asking the students what experiments they would like to do." The laboratory workshops are so popular that the management thought it would be a good idea to introduce two components on Fridays, one devoted to science, the other to robotics. "I work with a laboratory technician according to the students' wishes, as much as possible. I organize outings. We also participate in the Science Expo and organize an exhibition at school with parents, grandparents and people from the community. The students are then very proud to present their work."

Everyone to the lab!

Sometimes we do very advanced experiments, which are usually done in CEGEP or university. I adapt them and combine them with examples that students can understand. We made a lip balm that can also be used as wax for cross-country skis. We dissected a shark with babies inside. We built catapults. Students also really like the spectacular chemical reaction experiments.”

As soon as she has the chance, Gabriela Cismas goes down to the lab. She even asked the management to stick two periods together so that the students have time to experiment. "To interest them, I take examples from their everyday lives. Why do we need to know the periodic table? Because these symbols are everywhere, whether on a bottle of water or a box of cereal, and chemical elements make up what surrounds us, whether in our blood or in a horse's shoe."