Omar Rafael Regalado Fernandez

Omar started a PhD in Earth Sciences at University College London in December 2014, and from the beginning, was encouraged to take teaching assistant positions in the Department of Earth Sciences. Before moving to London, he majored in Biology at the Faculty of Sciences, National Autonomous University of Mexico. After doing a minor in Invertebrate Palaeobiology, Omar got a postgraduate grant from the National Council of Science and Technology, Mexico, to pursue a PhD abroad.

The teaching assistant positions helped him not only acquire teaching skills but helped him adapt to a new culture and enhance his communication skills in a foreign language. Omar always had at least one class as a Teaching Assistant in Palaeoclimatology, Geology and Sedimentology, modules that are core for Palaeobiologists.

“This experience helped me to stay up-to-date and learn new ways to teach complex concepts to students. After finishing my PhD, I had enough teaching experience that I was able to move on to a teaching position for A levels. In an unexpected turn of events, being a Teaching Assistant and later a teacher has helped me in the process of grant writing and science communication.”