When Jen Good came to Galesburg High School in 2002, she had a clear motive: she wanted to teach biology, be closer to family, and return to the region where she grew up. What she didn’t expect was that she’d stay for more than 23 years, becoming a foundational figure in a department that now serves as a launching pad for everything from medical careers to environmental science, engineering, and more.

Originally from Galva, Jen earned her first teaching position in Amboy, where she taught physics and chemistry—a nod to how tight the job market was for educators in the late '90s. But her heart was in biology. So when the opportunity came to teach her preferred subject in Galesburg, she took it—and never looked back.

Today, Jen teaches General Biology, AP Biology, and Dual Credit Biology through a partnership with Carl Sandburg College, while also adjuncting at the college level—often teaching students who are parents, career changers, or first-generation college-goers.

“This work matters,” she says. “Whether you’re going into nursing, dental hygiene, or medical transcription, biology is foundational. Even for kids who don’t go into science, it makes them better thinkers.”

Jen is a realist and an idealist in equal measure. She knows that memorization is part of the discipline—but she teaches it as a doorway to deeper thought, not an end in itself.

“It’s like learning a foreign language,” she says. “If you don’t know the vocabulary, you can’t have the conversation. But once you have it, everything opens up.”

Her course offerings reflect that philosophy. Students headed to four-year universities often pursue AP Biology, which gives them a shot at earning college credit through a strong performance on the national exam. Others—especially those eyeing associate degrees or careers in healthcare—enroll in the Dual Credit Biology 101 course, which provides college credit while still in high school, at no cost to the student.

“It gives them a head start,” Jen says. “And they’re learning it here, from someone they know, with their families still nearby. That’s a big deal.”

What’s also a big deal is the depth of experience within her department. Galesburg’s science team is seasoned, collaborative, and deeply invested in student success. Several members have 30+ years in the classroom, and Jen notes with concern that many of them will be retiring soon—with too few new science teachers entering the field to replace them.

Why? She suspects it’s a mix of better salaries in STEM industries, increased pressure on educators, and a cultural climate that has, in some ways, lost its reverence for science.

“I don’t think we’re running from science,” she says. “But I do think we’re devaluing science. It’s not opinions. It’s not social media takes. It’s data. It’s peer review. It’s slow and careful and humble.”

That humility is part of what makes Jen such a powerful teacher. She doesn’t shout. She doesn’t need to. Her authority comes from mastery and clarity—and from the relationships she builds with students who often find biology challenging.

“They don’t need to be perfect,” she says. “They need to keep trying. I’m here for that.”

She teaches them that scientific theory is not “just an idea,” but a body of evidence tested across thousands of studies. She reminds them that biology isn’t just a subject—it’s a way of seeing the world: systems, patterns, adaptation, and change.

And when they walk into her room, they’re reminded that science is not a fight. It’s a framework. One that helps us make sense of the world and, ideally, one another.

“I want them to walk out of here knowing that they can do hard things,” Jen says. “And that truth matters.”

In an era when that message feels increasingly urgent, Jen Good is still teaching like it matters.

Because it does.