Pacifica Stories

Nicole Geiger is in her 8th year of teaching Biology and AP Biology at Pacifica, and in that time has become an undeniable part of our school culture. Mrs. Geiger earned her B.S. in Biochemistry from UCLA, and it was here that she discovered her passion for teaching. While in college, she volunteered in a hospital and research lab while also working at an on-campus tutoring service. This combination of activities helped direct her to choose teaching as her career, where she is able to combine her love of science with her love of sharing that knowledge with others. In fact, exploring new activities is one of Mrs. Geiger’s biggest takeaways from her time in school.

“It’s not always easy determining what you want to do with your life!” said Mrs. Geiger. “Trying new things is so valuable in college– and high school too! It helps learn what makes you tick.”

Mrs. Geiger truly loves teaching at Pacifica. She deeply enjoys the lively energy of a classroom full of teenagers, and appreciates being able to watch the amazing transformations that occur as students progress from their freshman to senior years. She also loves watching students as they engage in interactive labs or activities– she says that their enthusiasm, creativity, and delight bring her joy. Finally, Mrs. Geiger loves that at Pacifica, she doesn’t have to hide her faith. She has been on her own faith journey in a serious manner since her sophomore year in college, and considers her faith to be the source of strength and courage in her life.

“Working at Pacifica allows me to live my life of faith honestly and openly,” said Mrs. Geiger. “I can share faith-based ideas about concepts such as evolution. But, in the vein of thinking and living well, I don’t preach these ideas to them, but rather present them as options worthy of the students’ full thought and consideration.” 

Mrs. Geiger’s hope for students as they leave her classroom is that they would recognize the unseen wonders that are all around. She says that we so often easily recognize the grand wonders, but that life studied through the lens of biology is jam packed with small, but no less wonder-filled truths. This quote by Elizabeth Barrett Browning resonated with Mrs. Geiger’s view of biology and life:

“Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes; 
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.”

Mrs. Geiger took time away from teaching to raise her large family of five children (all adults now). She said that this experience of raising children, especially as teens, deepens her perspective as a high school teacher and allows her to work with her students with greater understanding of where they are coming from. This background also helps her to partner with parents to achieve success for their children. 

In her free time, Mrs. Geiger enjoys many activities, including gardening, cooking/baking, going to the beach, crocheting, quilting, going to any Bruin sporting event, watching classic movies and musicals, and loudly singing along to music when she’s alone. Out of all of these, she considers gardening to be the most rewarding. 

“When I’m in my garden, time seems to stop, and there is opportunity to slow down, think, and pray.”