Team
Welcome, Torey Arnold
Professor of Biology
Tell us about yourself. What brought you to Merced College?
It was a random series of events that I never could have planned. I’m from Detroit, and I’m a high school dropout, so community college was a huge part of my educational journey that helped rebuild my self-confidence. When I started graduate school, I realized I loved teaching and wanted to do that full time. I tried microscope sales after graduate school, which brought me to California, but I’m a teacher and I had to follow my passion. I started searching for a Community College I could find a home at. I saw the job posted for Professor of Biology at Merced College, and I thought I could make an impact here and give back what was given to me by my community college professors. I’m very grateful the universe placed me here.
What part of your job do you enjoy most?
It’s fun and does not feel much like work at all! I get to help people, make jokes, and talk about how the universe works. I’m not sure why, but for some reason I also get paid to do it. What more could I ask for?
What excites you most about integrating virtual reality into your curriculum through Dreamscape Learn?
What excites me most is how it will engage students emotionally, allowing them to connect biological concepts with characters and stories they care about. This is something I’ve never experienced in a biology class, and I doubt many others have either—being drawn into biological principles through a meaningful narrative.
For example, when learning about cell biology, a challenging topic, students will become attached to the characters and be motivated to make the right decisions in the data to protect them. That’s just one scenario. The ability to incorporate character arcs, plot twists, and direct impacts from lab data into a story that resonates with students is, in my view, the true value of this technology. Hopefully, we’ll inspire a few future scientists, nurses, and doctors along the way.
How has the introduction of Dreamscape Learn influenced your approach to teaching?
The data analysis aspects of the labs make me wonder, how much more could our introductory biology students handle? The VR experience immerses students in the role of a scientist in the field, and we extend this process when we return to the lab. The assignments are designed with graduate-level data analysis and critical thinking in mind, without burdening students with the dense, jargon-heavy scientific publications. The level of critical thinking, data interpretation, and predictions students engage in during lab work reminds me of my own time in graduate school.
Now, non-major students at Merced College have the opportunity to fully experience the power of the scientific method. It’s incredibly rewarding to see them collaborate, interpret data and statistics, and make their own scientific predictions! I’m curious how deep we can go into data analysis and critical thinking in the course. It has been an eye-opening experience.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I like to read spiritual texts, do yoga, meditate, and take long walks at night with the moon and stars.