Dr. Aranda Duan
Dr. Aranda Duan earned her Bachelor of Science at Grand Valley State University, where her love of chemistry began to concentrate on the studies of biophysical chemistry, including biochemistry, physical chemistry and protein chemistry. She pursued further education and research in these areas to earn her Ph.D. in Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame. Teaching has permeated her life. Since high school, Aranda has been involved in teaching Sunday school, giving private piano lessons, and tutoring. During graduate school, Aranda was selected for a research fellow teaching scholarship. This opportunity allowed her to delve into how children’s brains learn, adapt different teaching strategies, collaborate with a high school teacher and classroom, share interesting science experiments with many different schools, and mentor students in research at the university. Aranda has taught undergraduates, high school students, and newly transferred foreign students at various universities. She continues her work as a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For her, leading a classroom means sharing her joy and wonder at God’s remarkable design. Aranda is passionate about helping students to build self-confidence, cultivating an interest in science within each individual, and transforming a seemingly foreign and difficult topic into one that is understandable and interesting. Her favorite moments are witnessing the “lightbulb go off” when a student grasps a new concept or solves a problem.
Outside of scientific pursuits, Aranda is married to Barrett, whom she met at graduate school, and is a mom. She considers her kids to be her greatest gifts in life. She loves dancing hip hop and dabbling with learning other languages. Every phase of her life has been marked by God’s hands moving and guiding her; teaching students at Veritas Scholars Academy is certainly God’s blessing on her life. Her relationship with Jesus and her understanding of her standing in Him as His dearly beloved child is her greatest pursuit and lifelong adventure. This journey began at the age of seven and has many more exciting years ahead.
