教授兼治疗师
In addition to being a professor at Mount Union, I am also a marriage and family therapist. I always knew that I wanted to become a therapist who works with children and families, 但教学是偶然发生的. 在俄亥俄州立大学读完博士学位的时候, I was asked at the last minute to teach an undergraduate course in early childhood development. 在教学的前半小时内, I knew this was exactly what I was going to be doing as a career; I just had to find a place like Mount Union to land.
专业成就
One of my most memorable professional accomplishments is starting a course on the psychology of humor. I’ve been researching and studying humor since my undergraduate days at Ohio State, 这一直是我的目标. Courses on this topic are few and far between around the world, which is odd since it’s a course that is both inherently exciting and interesting to study (and teach).
过山车的乐趣
I want my courses to be an experience, not just a class. 我努力培养乐趣, exciting experiential activities in every course I teach so that students get a hands-on feel for what they are reading about and listening to. The best example of this is probably the Face Your Fear project in Abnormal 心理学. 每年秋天, a portion of my students in that course are identified as having a roller coaster phobia, 他们还会得到免费的团体治疗. The whole class witnesses how a diagnosis is diagnosed and treated in real-time as the project culminates in a trip to Cedar Point where the phobia-group students get to show off how the therapeutic techniques work while they conquer their phobias. 很有趣.
人类发展与家庭科学
Human development and family science is new to Mount Union, but it was my focus at The Ohio 州立大学. 和博士一起. 社会学系的派克-金教授, we created an interdisciplinary major that focuses on how individuals and relationships develop and change over time, 以及它们是如何进化的, 适应并受社会影响. Plus, it came at no cost to the University, and is already attracting a number of students.
工作中最棒的部分
我很高兴来上班, 当我在教室的时候, I have one of those jobs where you don’t feel like you’re working. 我几乎每天都玩得很开心.
图书馆的爱
我其实很喜欢图书馆, because it’s the only place where I can still get lost on a daily basis due to its confusing and oddly designed layout. Plus, there is free coffee for faculty on floor 2. 如果你能找到的话!)
是什么让联合山独一无二
认真, I don’t want to give the canned answer of “smaller classrooms” or “relationships with teachers.” What really makes us stand out is the fact that Mount Union students can benefit from the experiences that they would find at a huge research campus combined with the advantages of a small liberal-arts school. 在很多地方, 这是一个非此即彼的选择, but somehow we have found a way to blend the two wonderfully.
全面发展的学生
I don’t think students know how good they have it here. 在我们部门, we give them the option to do an internship, and all have an opportunity to get hands-on experience both performing and participating in research projects. In addition to (hopefully) becoming better-rounded, the ability to actually interact and get to know their professors on a personal basis will serve them well. They are more than prepared for the next step, whatever that may be.