Environmental Safety Professional to Science Educator

New Bremen, Ohio native, Dillon Webster ’16, is not only an Environmental, Safety, & Occupational Health Management (ESOH) graduate, but also holds a post-baccalaureate licensure in education from the University of Findlay.

After high school, Webster decided to attend UF to study ESOH and run-on Findlay’s track and field and cross-country teams. After graduating from Findlay, Webster earned a position in the ESOH field at a company in Bluffton, Ohio and was employed by this organization for approximately four years. “During my time there, I just didn’t have that spark of passion. It was a great job and a great company, but it wasn’t what I loved,” said Webster.

Therefore, Webster started to explore other career options. “I love all of the sciences; I didn’t want to be too focused or too narrow and only look at one area of science,” he mentioned. “The part of my job in Bluffton that I enjoyed the most was educating others and helping with trainings. By being able to educate within the company, I found that was really an area that I had a knack for.”

Webster has a friend who also attended Findlay and studied Animal Science, who ended up pursuing a post-baccalaureate licensure in education and became a teacher. Webster reached out to this friend to ask him about his experience in the post-baccalaureate licensure program at UF and how he likes his new career. After this conversation, Webster decided he was going to give education a try and applied to Findlay’s post-baccalaureate licensure program.

While taking classes for his post-baccalaureate licensure, Julie McIntosh, dean of the College of Education, informed Webster of the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, known as the Noyce Grant. The Noyce Grant Program is geared to help prepare well-qualified math and science degree holders to educate and inspire math and science students in high-need schools. Noyce Grant scholars earn $22,455 in scholarships to receive a teaching license. Webster happily applied to the NOYCE Grant program and stated “the rest was history.”

Webster said he would be lying if he said that his decision to go back to college to get his post-baccalaureate licensure was an easy choice. The fear of leaving a secure, well-paying job, in a field that you hold a degree in, to go back to school can be paralyzing. However, Webster stated, “if education is something you are passionate about, I 100% recommend it. The faculty and staff at the University of Findlay made the transition so pleasant; they are flexible, supportive, and provide so many resources to their students.”

He went on to do his student teaching at Liberty-Benton Local Schools which led to a fulltime time teaching position within the school district. This 2021-22 academic year is Webster’s first year as a licensed science educator at Liberty-Benton. He also helps coach the school’s track and field and cross-country teams, and is an advisor for a leadership program.

In conclusion, Webster would like to thank his wife, Samantha (Grippe) Webster ’17, Findlay Occupational Therapy graduate, for her support. “She was a huge inspiration and played a huge role in helping me select this path for my career,” he said.

To learn more about the University’s post-baccalaureate licensure program, please visit the post-baccalaureate licensure webpage. For more information on the NOYCE Grant, visit Findlay’s NOYCE Grant website.

To see Webster speak about his time at UF and discuss his decision to pursue his post-baccalaureate licensure, please visit University of Findlay’s YouTube page to view Webster’s video.