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A Day in the Life of a Hungry College Professor (on Winter Break)

I don’t mean hungry as in ‘I could really eat something right now’ (although earlier I did the whole, “I’ll just have this one scoop of peanut butter,” and then half a jar later..  you know). I mean hungry as in ‘I want to master my profession.’ I’m aware that this doesn’t happen overnight, more…

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How to Win at Life

I have this friend that constantly inspires me. She’s young, extremely positive, has her own successful business, but like every other human, she still has bigger dreams and desires. However, unlike most, she doesn’t stop until she accomplishes those dreams. Her journey to making these dreams come true is consistent and positive. And I get…

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Community: Sometimes You Want to Go Where Everybody Knows Your Name

I couldn’t resist. I’ve been feeling really appreciative of community lately- all kinds of communities- and every time I get that warm, gushy feeling about how thankful I am, the Cheers theme song plays in my head. I feel like I’ve been able to meet so many amazing people over the years, and I always…

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Living Simply: A Lesson for Book Lovers

I go through my phases. They usually last around 6 months, and then the addiction subsides and I enjoy this obsession as a casual hobby again. Currently I’m fanatical about reading. I’ve somehow become obsessed with reading any book about teaching, blogging, business, positive psychology, and happiness. I’ve gone through the yearlong ‘playing-my-guitar-until-my-fingertips-are-beyond-calloused’ phase, resulting…

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Teaching/Mentoring with Heart: It’s Ok to Be Human

This is the title of Peggy Liggit’s TEDxEMU talk about connecting with students and making a difference. Like every other thing I feel compelled to write about, I loved it. As the director of faculty development at Eastern Michigan University- and the daughter of a professor so dedicated to teaching that he instilled the same…

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How to Inspire College Students: Life Goals Activity

Do your students know what their life goals are? At least once during the semester- normally during the beginning or middle of the term- I have my students do some sort of activity to evaluate why they’re really here in college, or more generally, what they want out of life. This semester I created an…