Major: Mathematics
Hometown: Denville
Pursuing a Pathway to Give Back During Retirement
“The quality of teaching at CCM is superb. I’ve been very impressed. Some of the best teachers I have ever had were at CCM.”
After retiring from a rewarding career as a physician anesthesiologist, Dr. Geordie Grant, of Denville, immediately began pursuing her long-standing goal of becoming a math tutor by taking classes at County College of Morris (CCM).
Her initial goal after leaving her position at the East Orange VA Medical Center was to brush up on her math skills by taking a few classes. Then Professor Alexis Thurman, chair of the Department of Mathematics, advised Grant to get her associate degree, as it would provide her with a credential to pursue that work. Grant, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the College of William & Mary, now will be graduating with her associate degree as a member of the Class of 2021 at age 74.
Her passion for tutoring – which she wants to do as a volunteer – developed when her then teenage son, who was strong in math, started struggling in his calculus class.
“He was a math honors student and when he started having trouble in calculus I realized other students probably were having the same problem,” recalls Grant. “It was really hard finding a math tutor and while we could afford the $100 an hour the tutor charged it made me think that a lot of people can’t and I thought, ‘I need to do something about this.’”
She decided to attend CCM because of the good experience she had at the college before applying to medical school. First educated and trained as a chemist, Grant knew that she needed to have a background in biology to attend medical school. She took her first biology course at CCM before she applied to New Jersey Medical School. Once enrolled there, she then took some additional biology courses at CCM during the summer.
“The quality of teaching at CCM is superb,” she says. “I’ve been very impressed. Some of the best teachers I have ever had were at CCM.”
In her life, Grant feels it is important to focus on mind, body and spirit. Tutoring takes care of two of those – it keeps her mind sharp and provides her with a way to give back to others. For her body, Grant, a former figure skater, does ball room dancing and maintains a regular exercise regime. Her plan as a tutor is to work with local school systems to assist their students who need help with math.
“I’ve been fortunate to have had a good and extensive career as an anesthesiologist, but math really interests me as does helping others,” says Grant. “Now I want to make tutoring math my vocation.”