In her heart of hearts, Beth Smith is a smidgeon Hoosier, a dollop Sun Devil and a whole lotta Roughrider.

The 1996 Yavapai College graduate also is an unabashedly proud public-school educator who brings, via a brightly painted and tech-packed bus, hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) classes to more than 6,000 K-6 students every semester in and around Bloomington, Ind.

“I fondly remember my professors at Yavapai College and I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate the wonderful start I got. It is not lost on me how important quality education is for those who can’t afford expensive college,” Beth wrote in an impromptu social media direct message back in March 2024.

While visiting family in the Prescott area this summer, Beth reached out again to share more of her career journey and take a trip down memory lane at the Prescott campus.

Beth recalled being drawn to Prescott as a teenager while on a weekend camping trip. “It seemed exotic and exciting,” she said. Having lived in the Phoenix area since she was three, she longed to get away from the heat and into the mountains. Socio-economically disadvantaged, Beth said she was also ecstatic upon learning that, unlike universities she had investigated, YC didn’t charge an admission fee and full-time tuition at the time was something like $300 a semester.

She enrolled at YC in 1994, lived in a two-bedroom apartment behind the former Village Inn on East Gurley Street with three roommates. “I walked to campus every day,” she said. To pay her share of the $500 monthly rent, food and school expenses, Beth worked at Lifeways Bookstore (still in business) downtown and babysat for a local family.

A self-described “hands-on learner” Beth said she enjoyed biology and other science classes in high school and college – her favorite at YC being natural history of the Southwest with now retired professor Beth Boyd. After doing some academic exploration initially at YC, she settled on an elementary education focus.  After graduating, she transferred to Arizona State University where she earned a bachelor’s degree and a teaching certificate.

Beth attributes her affinity for education to a family dynamic that required her to grow up fast and be fiercely independent. “Teachers were always so nurturing to me and school really was like a safe place for me. It was where I felt like I belonged,” she said.

After more than two decades in the classroom, more recently behind the wheel of the magic-school-bus- like “STEM To Them Mobile Science Lab” in Monroe County, Ind., Beth still feels fulfilled and empowered by her career choice.

“I chose the wrong profession for making a lot of money, but I chose a great life for myself,” she saiad, adding, “I love teaching so much. I love working with students so much and I love working with my colleagues.”

Beth student taught in the Guadalupe school district, then worked in Chicago public schools as a first-grade teacher. She moved to Bloomington after marrying her Hoosier husband, Jeff, and earned a master’s degree in education at Wesleyan University  while serving as an elementary school science lead teacher and raising her son, Ben, and daughter, Maddie.  “I’ve always loved science teaching. That’s my jam. Bill Nye the science guy is my hero.”

Beth’s passion for science, for teaching and for quality public education – not to mention the fact she developed curriculum for the STEM bus before she was even interviewed -- landed her the “Ms. Frizzle-like” position four years ago. It’s a job she relishes for the ability to determine with data what the students in her district need in the way of STEM education and develop grade-level labs and experiments around her research. She has become a valued resource for other STEM educators in her school district and beyond. This summer, while on a wedding anniversary trip to Jamaica, she carved out time for some teacher training.

Beth said she often sings the praises of community college to her young students, their parents and others who think quality higher education doesn’t exist outside of a university.

“I am proud to have been somebody who started at a community college. I see so many people suffer the crushing anxiety of wondering what college they’re going to get into. Yavapai College will say yes,” she said.

Yavapai College operates seven campuses and centers throughout Yavapai County and offers over 100 degrees and certificates, four baccalaureate degrees, student and community services, and cultural events and activities. To learn more about YC, visit www.yc.edu.