One might say that Julie Rochelle Ervin has spent much of her life under a microscope -- or rather looking into one. And that’s exactly where she wants to be. In fact, if Ervin were not employed as a teacher of biology, pharmacology, anatomy and physiology at Foxcroft, she would most likely be doing research in molecular biology. “I love the thrill of the hunt and truly understanding how something works,” she says.

A 2000 graduate of Mary Washington College with a BS in biology, Ervin received her master’s in that subject at the University of Virginia, where she studied the light-independent biosynthesis of chlorophyll in Chlamdormonas reinhardtti. She became a science teacher at the Ashley Hall School in Charleston, SC, in 2003 and acted as department chair from 2005-07.

In 2007, she was hired to head Foxcroft’s Science Department as well as to teach, so she headed north, with her husband, Kenneth Ervin, who teaches upper level math courses at Foxcroft, her daughter, Amelia, and a number of household pets, including dogs, cats, fish, a snake and a tarantula.

“I have always loved science, so I pursued it in college and graduate school. It only seemed logical to teach the subject in which I am most passionate and knowledgeable,” says Julie. “Science is complex but it can be broken down into something simpler.

“My approach to learning is to start simple, establish a solid foundation and then continue to build upwards. I do this with scientific material that is applicable to the girls’ lives and experiences. By learning about self, students stay interested.”

Julie finds teaching at an independent girls’ school most rewarding. “By not having to conform to a state’s curriculum, I have more freedom to try new methods and cover different topics in which the girls are interested,” she says. “One of the benefits of an all-girls school is that boys do not overpower girls in science class. Research indicates that this happens very often in co-ed schools. Here, girls are always willing to speak out.”