What I enjoy most about the Liberal Studies Department is the same thing our students value: We understand that life goes on beyond the classroom.
And like our students, we don’t want to miss a thing.
Liberal Studies is a supportive place. We faculty members develop mentor relationships with our students, and we encourage them to offer their creative work to the public.
When one of our students has a role in a play, my colleagues and I make plans to attend. We go to our students’ art receptions. We cheer students at poetry readings. If our students are playing music at a local venue, we LS faculty members are there.
Our majors value what we accomplish in the classroom too.
APU’s intentionally small class sizes make it easier to know our students and help them reach their goals. Meeting one-on-one with students, listening to their stories and sharing knowledge keeps me passionate about teaching here.
In fact, each time I walk into a classroom to begin a lesson, I’m reminded that I’m one of those very few people rewarded by a job that lets me do the thing I love most – working with students. I hope that doesn’t sound corny, because it’s true.
I completed a BA in English and earned my MA in English with an emphasis in rhetoric, the art of effective speaking and writing. Looking back at my own undergraduate years, an understanding of rhetoric would have made my reading and writing assignments so much more useful. I’m glad to be at a university that requires a writing and rhetoric course for our undergraduates. I know they’re gaining lifelong thinking and writing skills.
Helping students graduate with abilities that will help them compete in the real world is important to me. It’s gratifying to see our graduates doing work they love to do, applying abilities and knowledge they developed here at APU.
MA, University of Alaska Anchorage
BA, Washburn University
