30th Anniversary History Book

Terri Ross FORMER PROFESSOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY Re f l e c t i o n s

I was hired in summer 1996 to begin teaching fall term. I retired in May 2016. When I was hired, we didn’t have formal ranking. I was considered teaching faculty. When I retired, I was a full professor and then received the honor of professor emeritus.

would ask them to be brave, step back, and let me do my job. Imagine what it was like as graduation approached and parents were incredulous. They were astounded by the changes in their child. Their student had transformed not only academically, but also in his or her personal growth and independence.

Terri Ross

Many things attracted me to Beacon College. I loved the small size, the fact that I was able to develop courses that reflected my passions, but also reflected the interests and needs of the students. I really appreciated all the support from the administration and fellow faculty and staff. But, the thing that attracted me most was the opportunity to be a part of making real social change happen for students who previously had been marginalized. The most compelling part of my experience teaching at Beacon was teaching to every learning style within the classroom. It’s challenging and wonderful to see the students waking up to comprehension, application, and success. My personal teaching highlight was meeting anxious parents who would tell me that their student would not succeed unless I would agree to teach them in a certain way. I would have to reassure them that our teaching methods were designed to address all student needs. I

Weekend to make money for the scholarship program. When I retired, we had gone through restructuring of the college to better address our rapid growth and our changing vision for the future. Although people still stepped up as needed, the job expectations more clearly were defined and understood. Some things remain constant though. The new hires seem really to embrace our mission. Their energy and enthusiasm are wonderful to experience — that has remained the same. Although our student population is diverse and much larger, students still come together and support one another as people who understand the challenges they share. I expect Beacon to continue to evolve over the next 10 years. We have a calling and a mission to be there to give students the skills they need to make our world — and theirs — a better place. We will continue to make positive social change happen.

Beyond the mission, Beacon has always been unique in supporting the students with well-trained support services. Every student is unique and is valued and supported as an individual. Reflecting back on the Beacon College I experienced as a new hire and the Beacon College I retired from reveals many changes. Still many things have remained firmly in place. When I first arrived, I taught core courses which meant that I knew every student, what their learning disability was, and what their preferred learning style was. I knew every member of the administration, faculty, and staff. When something needed to be done, we all pitched in to get it done. A few examples of this is coming in the weekend before parents’ weekend to freshen up the paint in our buildings, bringing in tools to put together all the furniture for the new apartments, staying overnight with the students during hurricanes, and parking bikes for Bike

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