I am passionate about teaching virtualization, security, networking, and system administration because they are essential skills and knowledge for today’s IT professionals.
Working at a technical college where students are expected to be “job-ready” upon graduation is both demanding and rewarding. I enter the classroom every day hoping I can make a difference for my students. Devising strategies to best prepare them for their future is challenging and exciting. When I succeed, I go home satisfied. When I do not measure up to my expectations, I seek other approaches. I strive for a hands-on approach to teaching utilizing our department datacenter in many of our class projects.
My goal is that students always know not just how to complete a task, but why, and can clearly articulate exactly what they have learned after completing an assignment or lecture. We, as teachers, should provide a definitive answer to these questions before we embark on a lesson so that our instruction is meaningful to students, and they understand why it is relevant. While it is imperative to communicate with our students effectively, we must also reciprocate when students offer us advice. Throughout the years, I have benefitted from the feedback of students, alumni, internship supervisors, and colleagues and have made numerous modifications to my courses and our datacenter to reflect ever-changing technological advances.