Heading Back to the Classroom...

So apparently my “lucky” number on Monday will be 5. Why? Winter Term is starting at WOU and I’ll be heading back to the classroom. It has been 5 weeks since I was there on work, and the break has been fantastic. It has also been 5 YEARS since I graduated, and again the break has been fantastic! But now as we get back to “real life” and what follows Christmas break I’m headed back to campus. This term I will be of course interpreting at WOU, but also both taking a class myself and teaching a class too! I’m so excited!

Working there as an interpreter is FANTASTIC. I never thought I would love being in the educational arena, but I DO! At WOU I have a great coordinator, fabulous clients, amazing teams, and I’ll admit the nerd in me likes all the cool stuff I get to inadvertently learn while working at a college every day. Oh and the 2.8 mile commute has its perks too J! I already love my job, so working at an awesome place just makes it that much better.

This term I was also asked to teach my first course. I am pretty sure my mouth hit the floor when I got the email and I thought, “Me? No way? I have only been doing this for a few years, why would I know what I was talking about?” But after my brief moment of shock, I did a bit more investigating, pulled up my big girl pants and realized I could do it. I’ll be teaching a 1 credit (no biggie) NIC Prep Seminar to help student interpreters get ready for their certification test. The test itself has changed since I took my certification exam, but after a bunch of research and changing up the course syllabus I’m super excited about it. I always learn so much from new interpreters who have a fresh, not jaded, and excited outlook on the profession. Plus they have just gotten the most current education with what’s hip and new in our field as well, so I’m always curious to hear what they say or have learned. I’m definitely looking forward to some awesome classroom discussions, and helping them prepare for their future careers.

And then finally, I’ll be a student myself. No, I’m not going all educational and taking something like anthropology, or advanced business, but I am all signed up for Art 260 Basic Photography 1. The course description says: ‘The course covers the aesthetics of composition and visual communications as well as techniques for shooting photos, digital image control, and making photographic prints.’ Which in plain English means I’ll finally be able to use more than just the auto setting on my fancy DSLR camera Michael bought me for my birthday last year. And in turn you blog readers will likely see more images showing up on my pages. I’m hoping to find more subjects to shoot than just poor Dud-man too. While he’s a rather photogenic dog, I think he’s sick of me taking 7million pictures of him every time I take my camera out to play.

So along with keeping up with the house, walking Dud all over Independence, working in Salem at my FAV VRS center, going to WOU games with Michael, and somewhere in there hanging out with my fab hubby and our great friends and family, that’s what I’ll be up to for the next 10 weeks. J I’m so looking forward to the fun, challenges, laughter, and learning that goes along with each and every one of those.

Happy New Year to everyone and I hope 2012 is starting out exactly how you hoped it would!