Miranda Miller never imagined she would become a college professor. But as she moves into her second year of teaching at Gillette College, Miller has found a career that she not only enjoys, but appreciates as well.
“I love teaching at the college level,” she said. “I really enjoy my students.”
Unlike many of her co-workers who come to Gillette College from other states or countries, Miller is originally from Gillette. Graduating from Campbell County High School in 2000, Miller attended Marietta College in Ohio where she earned a bachelor’s degree and then graduated two years later from Ohio State University with a master’s degree. On a “whim,” Miller moved to Louisiana where she taught grades 8th through 12th at a Catholic school. But she said that job, as well as the state, just wasn’t the right fit for her. Though she never thought she would move back to her hometown, she longed to be closer to friends and family. And at Gillette College, she found the perfect match for her skills, her ambition and her life.
“I never thought I’d be teaching, period,” Miller said. “I was pre-law until my senior year of college…but I really love what I do now.”
At 26, Miller is one of the youngest professors at Gillette College. Teaching English classes including technical writing and composition courses, Miller said her students range from traditional students to those returning to college to seek new skills. While her age may help some of her students relate to her better, Miller said she also encourages her students to use today’s technology to communicate.
“I understand their language when they talk about Facebook and MySpace,” she said. “I also give my students my cell phone number and tell them it is OK to text and quite a few do.”
With 17 to 22 students in a class, Miller knows all of her students by name. While the younger students bring fresh ideas to the classroom, she also enjoys the life experience and enthusiasm that the non-traditional students carry with them.
“They oftentimes appreciate the value of the classroom more because they’ve been away for so long,” she said.
Now teaching full-time at Gillette College, Miller said she is excited about a new class that she will teach this fall. The World Masterpieces class will introduce students to seven different pieces of modern literature.
“It’s fun reading and intellectual reading as well,” she said.
Returning to Gillette in 2008, Miller said she was amazed at the changes the city had undergone during the few years she spent in Ohio and Louisiana. While the population had boomed, new businesses, more roads and several new neighborhoods had popped up and changed the face of the city.
“I imagine people my age that left right after graduation would also just be amazed at the changes,” she said.
And Gillette College was nothing like it was when she was a high school student. With new student housing, new buildings and more courses, Miller said she is amazed at what Gillette College now offers to the community and, of course, to its students.
“I like that it is in such a transition right now,” she said. “It’s expanding so much and there are a lot of exciting things happening at Gillette College.”