Lakeland Mirror

Issue date: 10/24/02 Section: Features

Media Credit: Patrice Pettigrew

Elizabeth Shumway is one of the newest and youngest professors on Lakeland's campus. Shumway loves to teach and she says that she really likes the energy exhibited by her students. Shumway feels that her age is irrelevant. She says that what is important is the desire to teach and to be able to grasp the minds of her students.

Until recently, Shumway taught at Marquette University. She gained her knowledge and love of Spanish from traveling back and forth to Mexico when she was a young girl. Her studies include seven months in Spain and three in Mexico.

Shumway wants to remain at Lakeland College because she feels that the faculty and students are great. She encourages students to come and talk to her if they ever need help, if they would like information about studying abroad, or even if they just want to come and visit. Shumway likes the environment at Lakeland and she feels that being a teacher on this campus is rewarding. She considers it challenging to be the only Spanish teacher at Lakeland, but she looks forward to seeing the students she has taught progress through her courses and succeed in graduating.

In the future, Shumway wants Lakeland to create a language media lab. In addition, she would like to see a Spanish club formed. The club would be able to take field trips to Spanish-language areas to visit restaurants and volunteer organizations. This would allow the students to gain an understanding of different cultures, as well as provide real-world experiences in speaking Spanish.

Shumway feels that language skills help students to succeed in their chosen career. Spanish can be as challenging to learn as any other language, but she says students just have to work at it, get into it, and learn to enjoy it. Her goal at Lakeland is to help her students attain their goals. Shumway hopes that her students will learn to love Spanish as much as she does.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools