Florida State University Panama City students named Leah Koehler, Ph.D., as the Faculty Member of the Year for 2023-24. Koehler is an associate teaching professor in Psychology and coordinator for the graduate program in Applied Behavior Analysis.

Each year, FSU Panama City students nominate and select at least one impactful faculty member for the campus teaching award, which recognizes faculty for excellence in the classroom and for enhancing the student experience.

In a recent address to incoming freshmen, Koehler suggested that students should take the time to sample from many potential majors so they could “find their passions and their people.” She said that was how she found her way to a fulfilling career.

Koehler came to FSU PC from the University of Florida in Gainesville, where she had attained her bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate. A certified behavior analyst, she previously served as a teaching assistant, graduate instructor and adjunct professor. In addition to numerous research and clinical experiences, she was the UF research coordinator for ABA services at a school for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

"In childhood everyone asks you, 'What are you going to be when you grow up?'” Koehler said. “Then it's, 'What are you going to do next?' when you're in high school. Then it's, 'What's your major?' Some of you may know what is next for you, and for others there may be a lot of directions."

Koehler said it was impossible to know what someone wants to study until they've had an opportunity to try out pursuits that interest them. It’s how she found her way.

"I swam around majors,” she said. “I loved science and animals, and was pretty sure I wanted to be a veterinarian. I sat through organic chem and calculus and wore knee-high boots and did labs at pig farms and went, 'Nope.'”

Similarly, an internship at a preschool convinced her that teaching small children was not in her cards, despite her love for kids. But an early-morning elective in Applied Behavior Analysis finally “clicked.”
“I fell in love,” Koehler said. “It was a combination of so many of my passions. But it took trudging through ‘nope, not this either,’ to find where I wanted to be.” 

She encouraged new students to sign up for courses that interest them, try labs that seem intriguing, show up to club meetings, volunteer, and look for an internship with a company they’re curious about. She also borrowed some advice from Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple.

“He wrote, ‘I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, if today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I'm about to do today? And whenever the answer has been no for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.’” Koehler said. "At the end of the day, your time is too precious and the world is too big to do something that doesn't bring you joy. One of the reasons I love my job and love our campus is because I get a front row seat to people finding and living their passion, as well as being able to live mine.”