Ericka Mochan always knew she wanted to be a teacher. When she was in fifth grade, she recalls coming home from school and telling her mother that she would like to get a doctorate and become a professor of mathematics someday.
Both of those early-life predictions have now come true. Mochan is a graduate of the Joint Carnegie Mellon-University of Pittsburgh PhD Program in Computational Biology (CPCB) and currently serves as the Chair of the Department of Computational and Chemical Sciences at Carlow University.
As the CPCB alumna celebrates her 10th year of teaching, she reflects on building a meaningful career.
“I had really great relationships with my faculty in undergrad, so I knew pretty quickly that was the kind of relationship I wanted to be able to replicate in my own career,” said Mochan. “I feel very grateful to be here now because this is what I always wanted to do.”
Becoming a department chair was a full-circle moment for Mochan. Her first job after completing her PhD was a temporary teaching position at Carlow, which turned into a permanent position and later a tenured position.
As the Chair of the Department of Computational and Chemical Sciences, Mochan has a busy schedule filled with teaching classes, serving on university committees, advising students, and launching new majors like cyber security. One of the highlights of her job is watching students achieve their goals.
“Our school is pretty small, so by the time students graduate, I know each of them extremely well,” Mochan said. “The most rewarding part is when they are getting ready to graduate, and they come to me and tell me what their plans are for after school. I know that at least a part of their success, whether that’s finding jobs or getting into grad school, is because I was able to help them get there.”
The skills she learned in the CPCB program helped her get to where she is today. When she was a CPCB student, she did two semesters as a teaching assistant to gain experience with the hope of one day landing a professor role. Joe Ayoob, Professor and Vice Chair of Trainee Affairs, was supportive of Mochan’s desire to enter a teaching career. She recalls how Ayoob helped her find opportunities to teach, along with honing her resume and cover letter.
She said that journal clubs and lab meetings also taught her how to think on her feet, a skill she still uses in her classes today. “I have taught probably 25 different classes in the last 10 years,” Mochan said. “The ability of teaching yourself things, which is what grad school is, and then being able to speak about it eloquently and be prepared that people are going to ask you questions about it is one of my big takeaways from grad school.”
Looking back, Mochan’s fondest memory from her time at CPCB is the day she defended her dissertation. “It is a culmination of four and a half or five years of such chaotic and stressful work,” she said. “When you get to the end of it, you think, ‘I’m glad that’s done,’ but also, ‘I probably could have talked about that for another hour.'” She remembers the feeling of relief when it was over, followed by a celebration with her advisors, parents and friends.
For students interested in pursuing a teaching career, Mochan’s advice is simple: get as much experience in the classroom as you can and be creative about finding opportunities to do so. Beyond TA roles, she encourages students to explore adjunct teaching roles at other local universities or working as a content expert for online schools.
She also urges students to lean on their networks. “Exploiting your network, and your faculty and mentors’ networks, is usually the best way to find those opportunities,” Mochan said. As an alum herself, she is always looking for adjuncts to add to Carlow’s roster — a reminder that the CPCB community is a resource that extends well beyond graduation.