Hello! my name is Cormac Toler-Scott, and I am a senior TA here in the Biology program at UBC. I’m from Seattle, Washington, where I completed my Bachelor’s in evolutionary biology at the University of Washington in 2021. I finished my MSc in zoology with the Leander lab here in September 2025, and I studied species diversity and post-embryonic development of pycnogonids (sea spiders) in the Salish Sea. Through this work, I was able to describe two new species of sea spider and redescribe 5 others using scanning electron microscopy and molecular phylogenetics (and I got to SCUBA dive all over British Columbia!).
During my master’s I did a whole lot of TAing, including several terms of Invertebrate Zoology (Biol 205) and Vertebrate Structure and Function (Biol 204) here at UBC, and the Invertebrate zoology course at Bamfield Marine Science Centre (BMSC). Teaching has been one of the most enjoyable and rewarding parts of my degree at UBC! So much so that now they can’t get rid of me 🙂 .
Concurrent with my degree, I’ve worked as a scientific diver on many projects including eelgrass monitoring work with the Mary O’Connor lab, kelp restoration work for Patrick Martone, and specimen collection for BMSC and the Hakai Institute. I also work as a contract dive instructor for University of Victoria’s scientific diving program.
What do you most enjoy about being a TA?
I really enjoy figuring out different ways to explain a concept. To really get something complicated across to your students and see that they understand it is really gratifying. Especially when it’s a struggle at first but then things click. Every student learns in a slightly different way and sees the world very differently. I incorporate this fact into my teaching by using a variety of different tools to get information across including gesturing, pointing, and nodding. No but seriously, I find drawing diagrams and using models and microscopes really powerful for teaching big picture processes. Nothing like getting that glint in the eyes of a student showing they finally feel good about a concept that was really confusing them initially.
What has being a TA brought to your graduate school experience?
I think in a lot of ways I’ve learned more from my TAships than my own thesis research. For instance, the TAships I’ve done have always had a large public speaking component to them, like lecturing and lab demonstrations, and this has taught me a great deal about how to be a captivating public speaker. I’ve always enjoyed public speaking to some degree, although it made me quite nervous for a long time. The teaching opportunities I’ve had really improved my ability to think on my feet and calmly speak to larger groups of people, which is something I really wanted to get better at when I started my masters.
How has your unique background influenced your TA experience?
I come from a long line of teachers on both sides of my family, and I’ve watched my mother devote her life to designing and teaching an apparel design program at Seattle Central College that would have disappeared long ago if it weren’t for her tenacity and advocacy for what she loves. At the same time, I always felt that my mom devoted too much time to her job, and I really missed her being around and fully present for much of my childhood. I don’t think that is a rare occurrence, in that the teachers that we are so inspired by and love the most are devoting so much time and energy to their craft that it consumes other parts of their life. So, in a way, I am deeply inspired by mom’s desire to teach people about something she loves, but I also know that it is all too easy to let teaching consume you, as there is always more you can do. I guess I want to be able to balance teaching with other things that I care about, like my family.
What is something you are currently doing that you are excited about?
I have been really enjoying making papermache sculptures the past few months. I find it is the perfect medium for me right now (cheap materials for a broke grad student lol) and the long and multi-stepped process gives me a lot of satisfaction, as it always turns out totally different from what I imagine in my head.
What is a fun fact about you that people may not know?
A fun fact about me is that I have a pet snake named Arlo and he is the chillest dude you can possibly imagine. I’ve had him for 11 years now and he is about 4 feet long and curiously friendly. Lately he likes to smoosh the pothos plant in his terrarium with his belly which is a bummer, but other than that he is completely harmless and just likes to hang on his stick in my living room and watch the goings on.
