Name: Elizabeth Maddrey
Title: Instructor of Computer Science
Company: Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College
Contact Info: maddreye@org.tec.sc.us
How I arrived at my present job (academic and other influences): Well, teaching has been something I've always kind of thought of doing. I'm not sure if this relates to some of the outstanding teachers I encountered in high school (who all pretty much told me I didn't have the patience to teach) or my experience as a teacher's assistant in college and grad school. When I finished college I went straight on to get my master's degree with the thought that it would qualify me to teach in a community college if I decided not to make a go of a "traditional" career. I taught in high school the next year and didn't like it as it certainly proved that I don't have the patience for teaching high school. I spent a year in the business world and couldn't get my mind off going back to teach, so I found a position at a community college where you still get the close attention and interaction with students, but you can also expect a certain level of responsibility. I love it.
How I organize my day: I'd like to say that I have my day planned completely ahead of time, but it's not true. Generally I spend 30 minutes the night before going over a rough idea of what it is I need to cover the next day. Then, in the morning, I get up early enough to get ready, run out the door, and have 20 minutes for any last minute Xeroxing before my first class. I use my office hours, as much as possible, to plan ahead and get caught up on grading, make handouts, etc. That way I take as little work home as possible, but there's always something going home to be graded. I don't mind that so much since I can curl up on the couch and do that, and it's never more than an hour or two of work.
Amount of time spent working daily (at home and office): This varies, depending on the day and what semester you're talking about, since classes and office hours all switch around when a new semester begins. On average I'd say I work 45 - 50 hours a week, including class time, office hours, and extra work to get the grading finished.
What I do to get myself thinking creatively: I drive an hour each way to work which gives me a lot of time to contemplate and just let my mind range from topic to topic. Most of the time I spend the drive looking at the scenery and then seeing where that topic takes me. When I have time, I write about it, little short stories, or poems, whatever the mood determines. Some of my best lesson plans have come out of this, though even I wonder exactly how the poem inspired just the right analogy to explain arrays.
My problem-solving strategy: Break the problem down. Then, once you've got it into pieces, break it down more until you get little chunks that are so very simple to solve you think they can't possibly be part of the larger problem. Once the little pieces are solved, glue them back together to make a whole. This usually takes A LOT of paper to scribble on, some is just doodling while you stare at the pieces, others is actual notes that help with solutions.
What I do to relieve stress: Write, read, walk. Not necessarily all three or in that order.
My hero, mentor, or person I most admire and why: Yow. That's a tough one, it's hard to narrow the list. I think I'd have to say my father, since he falls into the hero and mentor categories and I admire him greatly. The reason is fairly simple, he taught me how to keep at something until I conquer it, not from yelling on the sidelines, but from showing me in his own life and helping me to do the same in my own. That and he really helped during physics in high school. You have to admire a man who has the patience to help through a year of problem sets. I think that really helps with my teaching style also. I have to look back and remember what I was like, take a deep breath, and start over with my students, trying to put myself in my father's position.
What I do to mentor those who work for me: I don't have anyone who works for me. But I do try to mentor my students as much as I can and as much as they'd like me to by being there to help even when it's not necessarily related to my class or my office hours are over.
How a negative event changed my life in a positive way: I remember being told by my eighth grade English teacher, after turning in an essay about why I wanted to teach, that I'd never make it as a teacher. That really hurt, for a number of reasons, the primary one being that she had been a very major influence in that decision. I've thought about that more times than I can count over the years and it helps me when I start feeling my patience drying up as a student struggles with something very difficult to them, though it seems so elementary to me. I just remind myself that if I lose my patience, I'll only prove her right, and I don't want to do that.
One event or decision in my life I wish I could go back and change: I can't really say that I have one, I'm not sure if that's good or bad.
What values are the most important to me and what I value in others: Honesty and a willingness to give 110%, even if it still results in failure. I'm a fond proponent of trying your best, even if you don't get it. If you can be honest about the fact that you tried but still don't understand, to me that makes you an incredible person. I still struggle with that sometimes, it's so easy to try and gloss over the parts you're not sure about.
What inspires, motivates, or gets me excited about my job on a daily basis: The prospect of helping someone struggle through a difficult concept and succeed. There's absolutely nothing like that feeling, even if your part as a teacher was minimal.
Biography: Born 1974, Los Alamos, New Mexico.
Graduate High School, 1992 from The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia.
Bachelor's of Science in Computer Science, 1995, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois.
Master's of Science in Computer Science, concentration in Software Engineering, 1996, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois.
Taught high school, Columbus, Georgia 1996-1997
Programmer Analyst, 1997 - 1998, Policy Management Systems Corporation, Columbia, South Carolina.
Instructor of Computer Science, fall 1998 - present, Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College, Orangeburg, South Carolina.
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Location: www.acm.org/crossroads/dayinlife/bios/elizabeth_maddrey.html