by Delaney Letts
How many years have you been a professor, and what universities have you taught at?
“I’ve been a professor since 2000. I’ve taught at California State University in San Marcos, Red Rocks Community College, the University of Denver, San José State, and Colorado Mesa University. I first taught an English class at CMU. Now in my second year here, I am teaching Mass Media: Impact and History in the mass communications department.
What other jobs do you work?
“I am the director of Mesa County Public Libraries.”
What is your favorite part about teaching in general?
“Students, definitely. I love working with students and their inspiration. I love seeing smart students learn to think and grow. I also like the energy, joy and fun that students are. It’s all about the students honestly.”
Why do you enjoy teaching mass media?
“It connects all the things that I do. I started off as a humanities guy teaching philosophy and literature, but with my tech background, I was bridging those gaps a lot. Then I taught high-level informational science at the University of Denver for graduate students. But mass communications really allows me to bring all those things in because it’s all about communication and media. I’m agnostic about the format of media, we are so saturated in it. So, mass communications allows me more freedom to teach more broadly about the ideas surrounding information and communication that I think are both valuable and important.”
What is the most valuable advice you can give a college student?
“Be disciplined—don’t get sucked into goofing around too much. By all means, have fun and enjoy the experience, but schedule your time wisely because you want to learn and make the most of it. It’s not about intelligence or ability, it’s simply about discipline and time management.”
What is your fondest memory thinking back to when you taught in California?
“Surfing with my students. I surfed and skated with a lot of my students, getting to know them really well. It changed the dynamics of the class and really allowed us to turn it into more of a dialogue and a learning environment rather than a lecture. Even in Denver, I would go snowboarding with my students. It helps me get to know them more on a personal level.”
How do you typically fill your free time?
“I try and skate as much as I can, I do a lot of reading and I love hanging out with my kids. I have a daughter who’s almost 5 and a son who is 7 years old. The three of us read a book out loud together once a day. I also love the outdoors in general, including hiking.”
What is your greatest surfing adventure story?
“My trip to Costa Rica. I spent two weeks in Costa Rica having a blast surfing with sea turtles and hammerhead sharks. The weather conditions were perfect, surf about 8-feet high and 80-degree water. I went with one of my buddies, and we had the best time of our lives.”
If you had to describe yourself in three adjectives, what would they be?
“Creative, hasty and thoughtful.”
If you were a celebrity, what do you think you would be famous for?
“Creating problems and trouble, realistically, maybe skateboarding or surfing, but more likely I would be famous for writing or music.”
