Department Chair shares insight, advice for students
Jamie Bitzenhofer is the department chair and professor of government and economics at TJC. Here, she discusses her career and educational background and provides some insight for students and instructors.
Q: What are some interesting facts about yourself?
A: I’m originally from Wyoming, which is the state that nobody remembers exists. I am a lifelong vegetarian. I’ve been a vegetarian for over 20 years. I lived abroad for five years and then kind of moved back to Texas. I had lived here first. I’m an avid crocheter. It’s very grandmotherly, but I love to crochet.
Q: What are some of your favorite hobbies?
A: Definitely crochet. I crochet a lot. I usually have two or three projects running. I like learning. I’ve always kind of thought of myself as a lifelong learner. I’ll do Duolingo or read a book, or just try to find something that’s interesting and new and try to learn about it.
Q: Where did you go to college or university?
A: My undergraduate was actually at UT Tyler. I came down here after living in Wyoming and a little bit in Indiana and did my full four years at UT Tyler. And then I took a couple of years’ break, and then I decided to go back and get my master’s degree. My master’s degree is a joint degree, so it’s actually between a couple of schools, but I ended up in the first year at the University of Bologna, at their graduate campus, which is in Forli; it’s not in Bologna. The second year at a school called Vytautas Magnus University, which is in Kaunas, Lithuania.
Q: What was your field of study?
A: In undergraduate, I did English literature and political science, and for my master’s degree, I have essentially an IR degree. It’s in area studies with a specialty in Eastern European Studies.
Q: What did you find most fascinating or enjoyable about your field of study?
A: It’s about learning about different people and how people behave with each other. I mean, it’s always within the structure, of course, of the governmental system, but it’s really just about human behavior and how people interact with each other, why people make the decisions that they do, how they behave with each other, you learn a lot about other cultures and other ways of doing things, that’s always fun.
Q: How long have you been a professor at TJC?
A: I want to say nine years, and as soon as I say that, I’ll be off by one year, but I think I’ve been here nine years. I’ve been here since I was an adjunct, and I think I started in 2015, about that long. I’ve loved it. TJC is a great place to work. I’ve always enjoyed the students, so it’s a lot of fun.
Q: How long have you been the department chair of government?
A: Just over a year. I’m fairly new to the department chair game. We’re still learning on that one, but it’s been fun. I really like working with the department.
Q: Have you worked at any other universities before TJC?
A: I worked at UT Tyler. I was a writing tutor there originally, and then after that, I actually worked as an adjunct instructor at UT Tyler for a bit. So, I’ve had that work experience. I worked middle schools when I was abroad, which is not higher education, but it’s certainly teaching experience.
Q: Overall, what is your favorite class or topic to teach?
A: I really like Texas government, which I think might surprise people, but Texas has a fun history. And it’s really, really fun to teach Texas government, and the way things are done at the state level. I think also because local and state government sometimes get kind of overlooked or kind of forgotten, especially by students who are just learning about the topic, that one’s always a fun one for me. But I like American government, too. I mean, it’s got its own kind of special place. So they’re both good, but Texas is kind of my thing.
Q: What does a typical day’s work look like for you?
A: Well, it depends on which day, because I teach on Mondays and Wednesdays, and so those are heavy teaching days for me. I teach three classes. They’re spread out, and then I’ve got office hours in between. But on Tuesday, Thursdays, I’m usually still here. I’m just doing more department chair stuff, so it’s more administrative. When I’m not in class teaching, I’m answering a lot of emails, like my job involves a lot of emails. It’s a lot of answering questions, making sure we have supplies ordered, making sure that certain forms have gone through correctly. And then sometimes, every once in a while, there’ll be a committee meeting or something like that that I have to go to. So, when I’m not teaching students, it’s pretty much email.
Q: What is some advice you would give to a student who’s having trouble in class?
A: Always talk to your professor, even if you are scared. Just remember that we’re human too, and most of us have had those experiences, as well. I certainly struggled in classes and had to go ask for help. It doesn’t say anything about you other than that you’re willing to learn. So, always talk to your professors. Try to talk to them as early as you can, and you’ll probably find that most of them are pretty understanding and willing to help you in the context that they can. Don’t get discouraged if you do kind of not succeed initially, that’s OK. That’s a learning experience itself. I was not a straight-A student in high school, and I still made it, you know, we all have those things that we struggle with. We all have those things that we’re a little bit behind on, and we need to do a little bit of extra work, or maybe we stumble the first time, and we have to pick ourselves up and do a do-over. That’s fine. A lot of us have been there. The big thing is just doing that little bit of extra work to get yourself through it. Don’t stop, right? Just reevaluate and go forward and then do self-study. You’re in the class because the professor is there to teach you, but you also need to be doing a little bit of work, reading on your own, making sure that you’re understanding the concepts, like take a little bit of ownership of your own learning, as well. You’ll get a lot farther and you’ll enjoy the material more if you do that.
Q: What qualities do you think make a good instructor?
A: Somebody who likes their subject and somebody who likes students. I think you have to kind of enjoy what you’re doing and what you’re just talking about, but you also have to enjoy the people that you’re working with. I think it takes somebody who’s willing to reevaluate and learn themselves. Most of us at this level are subject experts, but we may or may not have ever taken a class in teaching before, and so there’s a little bit of trial and error, especially for a newer professor. And so, it’s just having the humility to try a new thing and see if it works or not, and kind of being as open as you can with your students. So that’s what I would say.
Q: Do you have any final thoughts or things you’d like to say?
A: I just think that TJC is a great place, and you can make it a wonderful place if you kind of really work at finding your niche, finding a friend group that you kind of really vibe with, paying attention in classes and putting some effort into it, and it can be a wonderful experience. So, you know, make the most of the opportunities that you have here and get yourself set up in the best way that you can. But don’t get discouraged if not everything goes perfectly; that’s part of life, right? You know, we’re all kind of trying to figure it out as we go, and that’s OK, too.
