Dr. Juliette Ng’s students can always expect to have fun and learn while attending her classes. Before moving to Georgia, Ng was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. She attended high school there and also received her undergraduate at Trinity University in San Antonio. In 2007, she earned her M.S. in Environmental Science at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Ng completed her studies at Texas A&M after getting her Ph.D. in Soil Science in 2012.
Ng worked as a student teacher and a lecturer while studying at the University of Texas and Texas A&M. She taught environmental science and soil microbiology at the colleges, respectively.
Ng moved to Georgia after being hired at ABAC in April of 2013. That fall would be her first semester of teaching. Ng’s number one goal as a professor is to make sure to make her students learn. “It’s not all about grades. It’s what students learn, for them to take in the information and apply it in the real world.” Ng enjoys seeing her students get passionate about things they initially didn’t care about. “Their learning drives my passion for teaching.” When her students “nerd out” about something and put effort into it, it also makes her happy.
She has taught environmental science and soil microbiology and hopes to teach biology someday. This semester she is teaching 170 students between her two classes. This has been the most students Ng has taught so far.
Ng also began her gender transition late last year. She said that although there is room for improvement the overall response from students and faculty has been positive. “People will love you for who you are.” Ng hopes to see more acceptance of the LGBT community not only at ABAC but in Tifton as well. She said that she sees Tifton as her home and hopes to educate those who want to learn.
For Ng, it was not hard to adapt to living in Georgia. “There are very hard working people here,” Ng said she isn’t the only one teaching her classes, she has also learned from students. When asked what advice she has for students, Ng said for students to find their passion and give it 100 percent. “Don’t be afraid to fail and be willing to work with everyone.”
When she’s not teaching, Ng likes to cross-stitch and plays bass. She also has artwork featured at the local Plough Gallery, and she said she is the resident tattoo expert at ABAC and has been interested in tattooing for 16 years. Aside from that, she enjoys cooking, makeup and her two cats. She looks forward to teaching and spreading more awareness next semester.
