After teaching for 14 years, 11 with Pine View in the science department, chemistry teacher Deni Ors has officially decided to part from her long-standing career as a high-school educator. During her experience as a Pine View teacher, Ors taught AP Chemistry and Chemistry I Honors and has had a profound impact on every chemistry student who has passed through her classroom.
In addition to teaching on campus, Ors has been working as an adjunct chemistry professor, a teacher who works on a part-time basis, at the State College of Florida (SCF) in Venice since the fall of 2012. Instead of retiring, Ors has made the decision to work full time at SCF Venice as a chemistry professor beginning in August. She will teach Introductory Chemistry, General Chemistry I and General Chemistry 2 — classes similar to the AP Chemistry class she currently teaches.
Ors’ husband is currently a science professor at SCF at the Bradenton location. Considering that the Venice and Bradenton SCF science departments interact closely, she felt the job opportunity would give her a good chance to work with her husband. “The two campuses are very closely linked, so it is certainly possible that I could teach on the Brandenton, Venice or Lakewood Ranch locations,” she said. “We’re not excluded to a single campus.”
Although she will miss her students from Pine View, Ors is excited for the opportunity to experience what it is like teaching college-level classes full-time. “It’s bittersweet leaving. I’m looking forward to it, but it’s hard to leave some kids I have in [Chemistry] Honors now that I know I would have an AP [class] if I stayed,” Ors said. “I have great friends here and have created great relationships with my colleagues in the science department, but it’s time to move on.”
According to Ors, her most cherished memories at Pine View include all the traditions that she has experienced throughout the years, including activities like tug-of-war, Watermelon Day and watching twelfth-graders excel in college after they say their goodbyes. Ors also said that she remembers all the wonderful times she has shared with her coworkers. “The thing I look back on most longingly includes the people that I’ve worked with, both students and teachers,” she said. “I’ll miss being able to see them.”
As of now, chemistry teacher Dr. Jay Skipper will be taking her position as an AP Chemistry teacher. Skipper currently teaches Chemistry I Honors, AP Physics C and Organic Chemistry. “I’m looking forward to teaching AP Chemistry next year, but I am disappointed to see Dr. Ors leave Pine View,” Skipper said. “She was not only a great teacher, but a great friend.”
“Dr. Ors was one of those teachers at Pine View who really had an impact on my education and time at Pine View,” eleventh-grader Luke Ourednik said. “Without her, I would never have enjoyed the sciences in the way I do now and been as keen to inquire as I have learned to do in her classroom. My friends and classmates who had her are lucky to have had the privilege to learn from her as well.