Mohammed AL-Abdulla

4/3/13

                                                               Nancy Cervetli

Talking with Nancy Cervetli, an English teacher at Avila University was really interesting. First I asked her about her background.

           

            According to Nancy she has a Ph.D.  In English Literature, (British Literature) and Feminist Theory from the University of Iowa. She has been at Avila University for twenty years. So, because of that she feels that she is at home. Also, she taught many classes in all different levels. For example, she taught Gender Bodies, Core Literature, upper division English, and Senior Seminar. She also likes teaching and interacting with students. She likes that because it keeps her intellectually alive and there are lots of interesting challenges and conversations.

            Second, I asked her what techniques that she uses with students. According to Nancy, in classroom she lets the students talk. She wants it to be a student centered classroom. So because of that she likes to do small-group work.  For example, she will make four to five groups in the classroom at one time.  Then, when the students come back from their discussion, she likes to make a circle were all the groups sit and talk about the questions and their response on them. According to Nancy, sometimes they do oral reading from the literature and discuss it in that way. She also likes to do some lecturing, but her goal is to get students to dialog and critically think through conversations between each other and listen to other people’s point of view that might be quit different from their own.

            Third I asked her what was the best technique that she saw that worked on her students in learning and understanding. According to Nancy she could say critical thinking, such as asking hard questions, and bringing up controversial ideas such as controversial ways at looking at things. Also, using some literary theory and writing. According to Nancy, the most important ones were critical thinking and writing.

            Fourth I asked her about her future plan. According to Nancy, this is her last semester at Avila University. She is retiring from this position and moving back to Iowa. Her family lives in Iowa and she really likes Iowa.

            Fifth I asked her about her future plan for her family. According to Nancy, she just published a book about less than a year ago. So because of that, she will have some projects and speaking engagements. Also, she will have some conferences about this biography she has written about a nineteenth century neurologist. So that will keep her busy for a while and she will talk about it whenever she travels.

            Sixth I asked her what is her best way of looking at things. According to Nancy, it is by getting them done, to wake up in the morning and do them. Also, according to Nancy she likes her work. She likes reading books, grading papers, book reviews, biography, history, and intellectual engagement.

            Finally, I asked her what is her favorite hobby. According to Nancy, she said that her favorite hobby is reading and exercising.

           

           

Mohammed AL-Abdulla

4/2/13

                                                            Amy Milakovic

            Interviewing Amy Milakovic, the assistant professor of English at Avila University, was interesting. First, I asked her about her background.

            According to Amy Milakovic, she was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas.  Amy lived in Texas until she moved to Kansas four years ago.   According to Amy, she had a number of degrees, but she did not start out in English, she started out with a business degree. Amy said that she was fortunate to go to a small, Liberal Arts college like Avila University. She took a number of humanity classes, and in doing so she discovered   how much more she liked beyond business. According to Amy Milakovic, she said that even though she worked a lot in the corporate world for over twenty years, after her daughter was born she quit her corporate job and went back to school. She completed her Master’s degree and got her Ph.D., and then came to Avila University.

            Next I asked her about how she ended up as an English teacher.  According to Amy Milakovic, after she got her master degree, she started teaching in the Humanities program at Texas Wesleyan. During her teaching, she realized that she loved the academics, but there was absolutely no money with what she was doing. She realized that if she wanted to earn money working in that field she needed to get her Ph.D. degree. She thought about teaching history, but what she loved the most was teaching English. According to Amy Milakovic, TCU had a really good English program. Her degree was not in Literature. It was in Rhetoric and Composition, which had a writing emphasis.

            Third I asked her about what techniques she used in teaching her students. According to Amy Milakovic, she said that she tried to use a variety of techniques because different people have different learning styles. She does little lecturing, and only when she needs to get a lot of information out quickly. She uses lots of reading responses on Angel (soon to be Canvas), were the students can work on it in their own time and really reflect on what they have done. Also, she lets them do a lot of introspection so that their education means something to them, and they are not just giving facts back to her. According to Amy Milakovic, she gives her students small-group work. She also likes to give her students projects and let them out of the classroom whenever she can, So that the projects could have meaning for them in life and not just for academics.

            Fourth I asked her what the best technique she had seen work on her students.  According to Amy Milakovic, it depends on whether it is in a literature class or a writing class. One of the projects she did in General Humanities a few years ago, was studying architecture and the rhetoric of architecture in how it shows values. According to Amy Milakovic, during that project she let her students out across the city and she gave them places to go to. For example, a particular business park or a particular museum and other places. She did that so that the students could walk around and practice what they had learned in class.  She said that this was a very popular assignment. In literature, she made her students memorize and recite poetry in front of the class because she found out that today’s students do not have to memorize like the way people did in her time. Once they had done it, the students felt happy. Also, Amy Milakovic told her students that the beauty and the power of what led her to English in the first place that once they memorize it, they can take those words with them forever. In good times or in bad times, they could pull out those words which, they put in their heart to either strengthen or comfort them, and bring joy knowing that those words are part of them forever.

            Fifth, I asked her about her future plan. According to Amy Milakovic, she hopes to continue at Avila. She will have tenure, and as many know, she is the department Chair. Also, there were a lot of ways that she wants to expand the English program. She is also excited about beginning more writing opportunities.

            Finally, I asked her about her future plan for her family. According to Amy Milakovic, her daughter would be graduating from high school in two years. Her husband will continue with his job until retirement, which will probably be four to five years. Also, she said that they like traveling, and so they do not know where they would end up.

Mohammed AL-Abdulla

            4/1/2013

                                                      Patrick M. McCarty

Today at Avila University, I interviewed Patrick M. McCarty. H

e is the director of the athletic band at Avila University. I first asked him about his general background in music. He said that both of his parents were teachers and musicians. He started doing music his entire life. He started with piano, and then took up percussion and violin. All through out middle school and high school he played in the orchestra and the band, and took private lessons. He did the same in college at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, where he got his Music Education degree. He played a lot of percussion, and learned how to play every instrument possible.

            Next I asked him how he decided to become the director of the athletic band at Avila University. He said that as he was working on his Master’s degree at the University of Kansas, Avila was looking to start a new band program. Avila had never had a program like that before. He said that Ambedy Bryson talked to him about starting ad drum line at Avila. So for a couple of years he was coming in as part-time to do the drum line. They went to play for the football games and basketball games. Now he is full-time and is teaching private lessons, music appreciation class, and continuing with the drum line. And now there is also a jazz walk band going.

            Third I asked what other things he had done since starting at Avila University. He plays drum set a lot in different venues, mostly with the Majestic Rhythm Review, which is based out of Lawrence. He also plays for high schools when they need a drummer for musicals or choir variety shows. He also does a lot of work with writing marching shows for area high schools. So he writes the music and the drill movements, and then he also teaches the students at Avila how to play drums. He also teaches private students on drums. He spent time learning different cool songs, where they could all play together.

            Fourth I asked him what techniques or skills he finds more effective on the students when he teaches them. He said to be very encouraging and motivating was great. A lot of students were motivated to succeed. Also, to give feedback all the time and more information on how to improve them and help them get going.

            Fifth I asked him about his future plans. He said one was to get a drum line of about ten to fifteen in the near future, to have a marching band to go with it, recruiting a lot of brass and wood players to join us, so as to have a full band and to play really cool tunes.

            Finally I asked him what he promises to Avila. He said his mission is to always provide a very welcoming, fun and spirited environment for the university through music.

Mohammed AL-Abdulla

4/1/2013

                                                            Carol K. Coburn

 

            Today at Avila University, I did an interview with Carol K. Coburn, Professor of Religious Studies and Women Studies. It was very interesting. First I asked her about her background. She said that she had a Ph. D. in Educational history, and she had been teaching at Avila University for twenty-four years. She also teaches American religious history, and teaches disciplinary courses and courses in women and gender studies. She spends a lot of time with the American religious history. She spoke about how multiple diverse religions affect the US culture and society, and how American culture society has influence on religions, because most of the religions that comes to this continent, for example native American were here first, and they have their own spiritual beliefs. But then we had a large number of Europeans. First Protestant Europeans, then Catholic Europeans, then Jewish Europeans and then west African religious traditions when people were kidnapped into slavery and brought to this country. And then after slavery, African-Americans adapted their own religious styles and traditions as well. In her class, she spends time talking about the groups and the ways which they have influenced everything from our government, to our society, to our economics. And how the American society changed their influence to certain religious groups.

            Second I asked what kind of homework she lets her students focus on. She said she tries to mix it up with in-class exams, out of class writing assignments, in-class group activities and take home questions which she calls “thought questions”. So she likes to use a variety of homework and activities.

            Thirdly I asked about her future plans. She said that right now she wants to continue teaching at Avila University, and to continue teaching some of theses courses.. She also teaches ISS classes, peace studies, and women, religion and community in the United States, as well as teaching Women and Science. She previously taught a course called ‘The Three R’s’, which is race, religion, and reform in the American education. So her plan is to continue teaching these courses, and to also work with archival materials in the library to learn more about and save the history of the university, particularly the history related to the Sisters of St. Joseph, who founded the college almost a hundred years ago.

            I then asked her about her future plan for her family. She said that right now she has a nephew who is two years old, and her mother is still living and is ninety years old. She said that her husband had passed away, so she has a very small family. She said that she invites her niece and sister and sees them whenever she can. They get together on holidays, mail each other, and talk on the phone.