John Stover, Sociology:
Q: What do you hope to accomplish here?
A: In these early days of my new career here at SRJC Petaluma, I am focused on developing my students’ newfound sociological imaginations and helping them understand how they can address the racial, social and economic injustices that plague our cultures and communities.
Q: What was your dream job as a child?
A: I was involved in community and musical theater all the way through my undergraduate years, and I dreamed about flying to California and becoming a famous actor.
Q: What is your best college memory?
A: As an undergraduate I loved the way people from different racial, ethnic, gender and socioeconomic backgrounds came together to learn from one another. In graduate school, nerd alert, I loved studying in coffee shops with my besties Nori and Sarah.
Q: What is your favorite junk food?
A: Ha! I’ll admit I love drumsticks and pizza every once in awhile!
Q: What is the best career advice you’ve received?
A: Do what you love and never give up. I tell my students the same! #LiveYourDream
Q: How do you relax at home?
A: My partner is a great cook, and we like to have dinner parties and play [Settlers of] Catan, nerd alert part two.
Q: What inspired you to work in your chosen field?
A: I fell in love with teaching when I saw how much I could help students become more socially aware and engaged. I’m so honored to do what I do every day, and I love my time in the classroom.
Matthew Martin, English:
Q: What do you hope to accomplish here?
A: I hope to help students achieve their goals, create spaces for students to publish their work and tell their stories, and to contribute to a community focused on big ideas and excellence. SRJC is a really special place, and I hope to add to that.
Q: What was your dream job as a child?
A: I always wanted to be a chef. Luckily living in Sonoma County, we are always surrounded by such great food and produce, so I get to pretend I know what I am doing in the kitchen.
Q: What is your best college memory?
A: Probably sitting in coffee shops with friends just talking about classes. College really allows you to explore the world and having those moments with friends to think and dream about life was really valuable.
Q: What is your favorite junk food?
A: Anything covered in cheese.
Q: What is the best career advice you’ve received?
A: If you’re going to give so much of your life to something, make sure it is something you love.
Q: How do you relax at home?
A: I read, take my dog for a walk or watch Netflix.
Q: What inspired you to work in your chosen field?
A: I’ve always believed an education is one of the most powerful things someone can obtain. When I was at Palomar College in San Marcos, I had an English professor who really inspired and challenged me. Her class forced me to ask questions, think critically, introduced me to authors and perspectives I hadn’t considered, and really inspired me to become a more thoughtful human. She became my life-long mentor, and if I can do even a small fraction of what she has done for me, for my students, I will be happy.
Jennifer Castello, Health Sciences:
Q: What do you hope to accomplish here?
A: To help nursing students reach their fullest potential.
Q: What was your dream job as a child?
A: To work in a hospital.
Q: What is your best college memory?
A: Graduating with honors from nursing school.
Q: What is your favorite junk food?
A: Red Swedish fish candy and See’s Dark Chocolate Bordeaux.
Q: What is the best career advice you’ve received?
A: Do something you love so that your job isn’t work.
Q: What inspired you to work in your chosen field?
A: The feeling I get when I help someone.
Q: How do you relax at home?
A: I relax at home by sitting on the couch with a glass of wine, watching recordings of “Grey’s Anatomy” or “The Voice”.
William McCracken, Industrial Trade Technology:
Q: What do you hope to accomplish here?
A: I look to move the machine tool technology program towards an advanced manufacturing training center, a place where students can gain the job skills to be employable in a 21st century manufacturing facility or start their own business in whatever their interests may be.
Q: What was your dream job as a child?
A: To run a record store which I was able to achieve in the early 1980s in San Francisco. It was called Government Records and was located in an old firehouse in the Mission District.
Q: What is your best college memory?
A: Receiving my degree. My family was in attendance, and it was a very proud moment. I tell that experience to all my graduating students to convince them to walk during graduation. It is a celebration of years of hard work and every student should experience the joy of walking across the stage and receiving their degree.
Q: What is your favorite junk food?
A: Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream. Consume responsibly.
Q: What is the best career advice you’ve received?
A: To always stay student–centered; to keep the needs of the students first and foremost. They are our customers. When they complete our programs, they are the representation of what we teach.
Q: How do you relax at home?
A: By spending time with my wife, Robin, and daughter, Margaret, walking my Chihuahuas, taking long motorcycle rides along the coast on my Triumph and enjoying an occasional glass of pinot noir on our back patio. We feel very fortunate to live in beautiful Sonoma County and the privilege to teach at Santa Rosa Junior College!
Q: What inspired you to work in your chosen field?
A: Teaching has been the most rewarding experience of any of the work I’ve done. Working with students from the first day they step into my classroom, helping them achieve their goals and the culmination of watching them walk across the podium receiving their degree gives me a sense of pride like they were my own family.
Felicia Darling, College Skills:
Q: What do you hope to accomplish here?
A: Ultimately, I want to do my little part to disrupt systemic inequalities that exist in the US around ethnicity/race, language and socioeconomics. I want to help first-generation college students bolster their math skills and shift their mindsets around their math ability. I hope to help students who say things like, “I am not good at math” and “I am not a math person” to make radical identity shifts toward seeing themselves as mathematicians and competent math learners. The greatest contribution that I can make is to help students, who would not otherwise pursue STEM careers, to gain access to a high-quality math education that leads to them to pursue higher education options previously out of their consideration.
Q: What was your dream job as a child?
A: A medical doctor, but I lacked the socioeconomic resources to pursue that goal at the time.
Q: What is your best college memory?
A: I did not go to college as a traditional student. My best college memory was when I was 50 and getting my Ph.D. at Stanford. I was so happy when I was awarded a Fulbright. It validated my research pursuits of illuminating assets of first-generation college students in mathematics. It was an ethnographic study examining problem-solving approaches in a Yucatec Maya Village in the Yucatán.
Q: What is your favorite junk food?
A: Popcorn with butter.
Q: What is the best career advice you’ve received?
A: “Keep asking questions!” by Chris Gulde in the Provost Office at Stanford.
Q: How do you relax at home?
A: I like dancing to Motown and R&B and playing with my daughter’s little Rat Terrier/Chihuahua mix called Riley.
Q: What inspired you to work in your chosen field?
A: I was a first-generation college student, who lived in poverty as an adult. I wanted to do something that could help other first-generation students break the cycle of poverty by gaining access to STEM careers.
Daniela Kingwill, English as a Second Language:
Q: What do you hope to accomplish here?
A: As a Non-Credit ESL instructor, one of my goals is to help students transition to credit classes. I teach students English as a Second Language, and I also teach them about SRJC as a whole. For example, I invite counselors, teachers and other guests to come speak to students. We take a tour of the library and find out how to get services, such as student ID cards and health care. In general, my job is to help students feel comfortable in a new country, with a new language, and in a new school system.
Q: What was your dream job as a child?
A: As a child, I dreamed of being a pilot. I wanted to travel the world and see new places.
Q: What is your best college memory?
A: My best college memories include spending time with friends and studying what I wanted.
Q: What is your favorite junk food?
A: My favorite junk food is chocolate. It’s healthy, right?
Q: What is the best career advice you’ve received?
A: To do something I love. I’m so lucky to have a career that I am passionate about, working with diverse people every day. I learn as much or more from my students as they do from me.
Q: How do you relax at home?
A: I relax at home by taking a walk with my dog and playing with my daughter.
Q: What inspired you to work in your chosen field?
A: I was inspired to teach English as a Second Language because I grew up in a bilingual household—German and English. Because of that, I continued to study languages throughout high school and college. One day I asked myself what I was interested in, and the answer was teaching and languages. As an ESL teacher, I get to use both of my passions every day.
Cindy Fleckner, Health Sciences:
Q: What do you hope to accomplish here?
A: To share my passion of dental hygiene with the students, help them achieve their goals and graduate with the highest standards!
Q: What was your dream job as a child?
A: Court reporter.
Q: What is your best college memory?
A: Meeting and making life-long friendships.
Q: What is your favorite junk food?
A: Sweet potato fries.
Q: What is the best career advice you’ve received?
A: “Do what you enjoy.”
Q: What inspired you to work in your chosen field?
A: The flexibility of having a career and raising a family.
Q: How do you relax at home?
A: Hanging out with my mini Dachshunds, family time and I love to knit.
Hannah Winkler, Mathematics:
Q: What do you hope to accomplish at here?
A: I hope to provide an inclusive learning environment for my students, a place where they feel that they have not only the resources and tools to succeed mathematically, but also the capability of doing so.
Q: If you eat eggs, how do you like them prepared?
A: Over-easy! Runny yokes are so good.
Q: What was your favorite class as an undergraduate?
A: A combinatorics and graph theory class. It was so much fun and motivated me to study combinatorics in graduate school.
Q: What is the soundtrack to your life?
A: This is a hard one. Anything I can sing along to.
Q: What is the best career advice you’ve received?
A: My advisor/mentor told me that everyone has a different path even if they want to get to the same place. This resonated with me as I deliberated the decision to not get a Ph.D., knowing I wanted to teach but being concerned about what my peers were choosing to do. She said I needed to make the right decision for me.
Q: What inspired you to work in your chosen field?
A: I took a calculus class in college and the professor was just amazing. I saw someone else who enjoyed math like I enjoy math, and he inspired me to continue studying mathematics.
Debbie Morikawa, Health Sciences:
Q: What do you hope to accomplish here?
A: I want to continue to inspire and educate student nurses to be safe professional leaders of our community.
Q: What was your dream job as a child?
A: Educating student nurses which is what I’m doing now and my colleagues are very supportive. My dream job as a child was to be a nurse. I used to wear the same outfit our school nurse wore twice a week.
Q: What is your best college memory?
A: My best college memory is becoming friends during my Bachelor of Science in Nursing program with people who formed a group called the Rabble Rousers. We still get together.
Q: What is your favorite junk food?
A: Popcorn and McDonald’s ice cream cones are my favorite junk foods.
Q: What is the best career advice you’ve received?
A: Follow your passion.
Q: What inspired you to work in your chosen field?
A: My elementary school nurse inspired me to become a nurse someday.
Q: How do you relax at home?
A: I swim and watch Netflix.