About Me

I grew up wanting to be a teacher since the third grade when I was assigned to teach a lesson about bees to a kindergarten class. We really had fun, and my “students” did very well on their test. What’s not to love about that? I still love the little lightbulbs that click on when students grasp a new concept. Also, my dad was a teacher; I try to honor him in my teaching.

The thing I love about Susquehanna is that I know all my students by name and really enjoy my relationship with them. Most learning occurs when students are comfortable offering comments and asking questions in class. So I strive to create a class environment that promotes that.

I also try to use examples that students can relate to. I often turn to my dogs for help in my Management and Organizational Behavior class. When talking about job design, students and I focus on prison dog training programs. Then I bring my Great Dane, Cooper, a prison training program “graduate,” to class. Meeting Cooper really brings home the benefits these programs offer stakeholders beyond the inmate trainers.

Later, we talk about schema and stereotyping. Schema are “mental maps” we use to stereotype people or situations. All people stereotype; it’s just part of our perception process. But we could be much better people in the world if we understood the nature of schema and potential pitfalls of stereotyping. To make the point, we discuss pit bulls, a dog breed I believe gets a lousy wrap, due primarily to inaccurate schema. Enter Stella Blue! Stella is my rescued pit bull. Meeting Stella encourages students to scrutinize their schema and understand the power of personal experience in shaping them … and converts most into pit bull fans in the process.

Courses Taught