John Pelton is one of two teachers at Dos Pueblos High School with a doctorate, which he received while studying a biological process called angiogenesis.
To earn his doctorate, Pelton spent five years working on an independent research project, known as a dissertation. In his dissertation, Pelton analyzed blood cells at the microscopic level.
“I think what drove my decision to pursue this was that I liked microscopy,” Pelton said. “I picked all three different labs that were doing, to varying degrees, cell biology using microscopes, trying to understand how cells work in different contexts.”
Pelton said he encourages enthusiastic biology students to pursue biology as their major in college.
“A lot of students want to get into the health field, be a doctor, a nurse, anything in that kind of realm,” Pelton said. “Obviously, a biology degree is useful for that.”
However, Pelton acknowledges that biology is known to be a rigorous major with long working hours, and urges aspiring biologists to prioritize having good time management skills.
“Science majors often have a lot of labs which take up more time,” Pelton said. “One of my biggest suggestions for people going into biology is to find ways to do research. The earlier you start research, the more practice you can get … research is very valuable when you’re applying for things like grad school or med school.”
Pelton decided to teach at a high school level because he found his ability to connect with teenagers to be “much higher” compared to college students.
“I chose teaching because I enjoy connecting with students,” Pelton said. “Throughout my doctorate, I did different things like festivals, outreach, teacher’s aid work, and I always enjoyed connecting with students and trying to figure out how to teach them and help them.”
At DPHS, Pelton teaches Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Biology. Additionally, he teaches Honors and College Preparatory Chemistry. Karim Elkurjie (11), a student in Pelton’s AP Biology class, said he enjoys the “creative effort” Pelton puts into the class.
“It’s very fun … because even when he’s giving a lecture, he doesn’t make it boring, and he’ll incorporate other things into it,” Elkurjie said. “The way he teaches is really interesting. His slides are really cool … they have cool transitions and animations, and I haven’t seen another teacher use that, and it just makes the class fun.”
In addition to being immersed in biology, Pelton spent his youth focusing on tennis, not only playing recreationally, but also competitively. Pelton played collegiate tennis, while also coaching high school and college students as his first “real job.”
In recent years, Pelton stepped back from the sport but said he still stays active with his family.
“Most of my life, outside of teaching, revolves around my two daughters, who are three and seven,” Pelton said. “I enjoy hiking, being out in nature, and playing soccer with them or by myself, and baking.”
