Dr. Andrea Hathcote is a professor at TJC who teaches Introduction to Special Populations, Learning Framework, Honors Learning Framework, and Honors Capstone. She has been teaching for fifteen years. Dr. Hathcote shares her love of research, how she got introduced to teaching, and advice for honors students interested in undergraduate research.
Q: What makes you interested in your classes?
A: My background is in special education, so I’ve always been interested in education and helping people work in the school system. And then I love research, so the opportunity to work in the honors program and help other people learn to love research was very exciting to me.
Q: Why did you first start teaching?
A: Actually, I didn’t want to be a teacher. I studied speech and acting in my bachelor’s degree, and I was going to go to acting school. But then life happened and I didn’t get to move. So, I just graduated and then I got jobs in retail. I worked for a business for a while as a secretary and I hated all of it.
So I went back to school to get a graduate degree. When I went there, the counselor told me that they had this special education program. And I was like, OK, sure, whatever. So I went over there and enrolled for the program, not even really knowing what it was other than teaching. My very, very first placement was in a life skills classroom, which is where they educate people who have very severe disabilities – so people who are nonverbal, people who have lots of physical limitations, all kinds of things like that. I went the very first week, and I remember driving home and calling my mom and saying, ‘I would love this. Why have I not been doing this all along?’ And she said, ‘I’m so glad you found something you love.’ I sort of fell into it. I didn’t intend to do it and just the longer I’ve stayed in, the more I have loved it.
Q: Why did you come to TJC?
A: I came to TJC because Tyler is my hometown. I had moved away and right before I came to TJC, I was teaching at Augusta State University in Georgia. Then my husband passed away quite suddenly. I didn’t know anybody there, I had two teenagers and we were all very sad, so we decided to come back home to Tyler. We moved back here and TJC was the place that gave me the opportunity to come and work. I started here in our TRIO program. I worked there for a few years until Dr. Powell recruited me to come into the education department. TJC gave me a home, so that’s why I’m here.
Q: What does an average day look like for you?
A: I usually get here fairly early. I like to teach early mornings, so I’ll usually have an 8:35 a.m. class to get started teaching right away. I’ll have office hours usually during the day where I grade papers, answer emails, and talk with students as they come in. In the fall, I’ll usually have honors, so I’ll spend some time in Learning Framework, and then switch gears and go to honors and teach more of a research-based approach. There’s almost always at least one question about Capstone, whether somebody’s doing their Capstone project or wants to do their Capstone project. I also tend to attend a lot of meetings. All of that can happen in one day around here, so it’s a very lively job and I get lots of interaction with people which I really like.
Q: What do you like to see in students who take your courses?
A: I love when students will engage in class. I like it when they’ll talk. We do better when we talk about it and think it through and process it. I like to see students building relationships with the people in their classes, smiling and saying ‘I missed you yesterday’ or ‘Hey, did you see this?’ and talking and exchanging information on their phones. My very best friends in the world are friends that I made in college, so I know how valuable those friendships can be. I also like students who come who are wanting to find the best version of themselves. I really want students to leave my classes knowing who they are and how great their potential is. I like to have students come in with an open mind and the desire to make themselves the best version that they can be.
Q: Have you learned anything from your time working with student research studies?
A: Oh my gosh, I’ve learned so much. One of the best things about our research programs in honors is that the students get to choose their own topics. The great thing is, you guys get to pick something that you’re interested in. And then the next great thing is I have to learn about it, too, in order to keep up with you. I have to read all your sources so that I can speak intelligently with you and support you. Every semester I have to learn new things in order to keep up with my students.
A couple of years ago, our top scholar was in Capstone and did her study on the way dancers perceive themselves. She was a photographer and she said, ‘I want to do this photo documentation as my research.’ I had no idea what that meant. I had to sit there at the table with her and Google it to even learn what it was. And then she did this incredible project. I remember when I was introducing her before her project presentation, I told everyone I had no idea what this was or how she was going to do it.
After the presentation was over, I had a professor from SFA come up to me and say, ‘Oh my goodness, I’m not sure I would be brave enough to just let my students go like that.’ And she said, ‘I really admire you for letting her follow her passion and not making her conform to something you knew how to do.’ And I said, ‘Well, I’ll tell you what I know about photo documentation now.’ It has allowed me to grow as a researcher, and just learn all kinds of new things and be excited because you students are excited, and I love that part of it too.
Q: Do you have any advice for students interested in your Honors Capstone course?
A: When you’re in EDUC 1300, pick a topic you really like that you want to spend another semester with, because when you’re done, you’re going to end up spending at least a year with this topic. So don’t just compromise and pick some topic. Pick something you’re really interested in. The more creative, the better. So think really big and wild and out of the box, and be creative with how you want to approach your topic.
If you are interested in Capstone, think about what your goals are. Do you want to just do Capstone? Check the box so that you can graduate with honors? Or do you want to use Capstone to help you get into a certain school, or get a publication, or make scholarship money? Do you have a specific goal for that? And if you do, share that with your Capstone coordinator so that I can help you get to the right schools, get to the right events, and put you in front of the right people to help you accomplish that goal.
The more creative you are with your topic, the more you love it. And the more you work in partnership with your Capstone coordinator, the better your experience will be. The pressure is really on you to kind of figure those things out. I’ve had some students tell me it’s the first time they ever felt like they were really, truly creative in school. I love that the freedom is there for you guys to chart your own course and study what you want to study.
Interview edited lightly.