Northwest Missouri State University - Tower Yearbook (Maryville, MO)

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ver since he saw how much his father liked working as a professor, Dr. Joseph Reese, assistant geology professor, Ig ant ited to be an instructor. Reese began his teaching career at Idaho State niV ersity, where he spent two and a half years eachi ing geology before coming to Northwest. Reese always wanted to be a teacher because of the ini Fe ence of his father. “I saw his (my father’s) lifestyle and thought that as a pretty good thing to do,” Reese said. Reese taught two lecture classes and two lab lasses at Northwest during the fall semester. Teach- ng the lab classes was what Reese liked the most bout his job. T liked the labs,” Reese said. “They were very hands on. Interaction with the student and teacher yas very important. Labs allowed that interaction etwe en student and teacher much more than the faditional lecture .” Reese enjoyed teaching at Northwest because of size of the classes. The type of classrooms did not differ much from his previous teaching role, but one Pipe that was different was the age of the students. At Idaho State the average age of the student was probably 27 years old,” Reese said. “There were a lot if folks that came back to school just to take some un class. The clientele was different. There were a t more traditional students at Northwest than nontraditonal. I might have been the average age in one of the classes at Idaho.” Reese attended the field trip the geology depart- ment took in the fall to the southeast part of Mis- souri. This was the part of his teaching experience he enjoyed the most. “The field trips were great,” Reese said. “If you had to classify my type of geology it would have been field-orientated geology.” Technology played a big role in the geology field and Reese thought that was great, but he believed in not forgetting about the field experience that could be gained from geology. “T knew that at Northwest the technology part of geology was very important,” Reese said. “But I thought the field education was vital, especially in geology.” The adjustment to Maryville and Northwest was not hard for Reese, but took getting used too. “Tt was a little different,” Reese said. “For the last 10 years, either as a graduate student or instructor, I had been in a setting which had graduate programs. It was a different situation with just faculty and undergraduates — not that intermediate step that I was used too. That was one of the biggest changes for me.” With the infiuence of his father’s teaching career in his life, Reese looked forward to his future in geology and his teaching career. Reese's - | ducational Field Tri p © — od by Jason Hoke New Faculty 29

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“y knew that at Northwest the technology part of geology was very important. But I thought the field education was vital, especially in geology.” : - Dr. Joseph Reese 28 ¢ Special Section New Faculty member Dr. Joseph Reese spends his office hours doing paperwork. Reese stayed in contact with science outside the University by attending the Geological Society of America where he gave speeches and took part in field trips. Photo by Susan Porterfield

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magine the first day of class. Entering the class- room, searching for familiar faces and finding an empty seat could be a scary and nervous experi- ence. Then imagine that most of the students staring at you were the age of your grandchildren. Suddenly, the experience can almost double in fear. It wasn’t hard to determine who was an under- graduate, especially on the first day of classes. Some of them could have been identified as scared, ner- vous, lost and young. But nontraditional students taught the University at least one thing about undergraduates, young was not always the case. That was exactly what nontraditional student Peggy James faced everyday. After her children had grown and gone to school themselves her daughter got her “excited about school again.” James enrolled at Northwest in the fall of 1993, majoring in English and minoring in art, and took 12 hours upon entering college classes. James not only had to worry about upcoming tests, she had to worry about her family, too. That, perhaps, was the hardest adjustment for James. . “T tried to spend quality time when I saw them (my family), James said. “They usually understood if J had a test or something.” Balancing a family and a school load proved to James’ family that a great deal of support was needed to help her through the school year. “My husband gave me lots of support,” James said. “We helped each other out and reached a certain understanding.” Family members were not the only ones that James found to be understanding and supportive. James simply had to look across campus and utilize Stu- dent Support Services. She and other nontraditional students found programs and services that helped them benefit from their college experiences at the campus group. “The Student Support Services offered activities and seminars on stress,” James said. “If you needed to, they had counseling sessions for nontraditional students.” The Student Support Services also aided the non- traditional students of Northwest by lending an ear to listen to the problems that these students faced throughout the year. The services also helped possible nontraditional students with the decision to enroll in college. After making the initial step of choosing to go back to school, James saw what she went through as a positive experience and encouraged those who wanted to go back to college to do it. “J thought it broadened my horizons,” James said. “T metnew people and gained a younger look on life. (Nontraditional students) could have expected some hard and good times.” ) Jares Journey Back to Class Co by Jackie Tegen 30 © Special Section