Alana Glenn
Staff Writer
When Michaeline Anderson isn’t in the classroom teaching speech communication, she’s in the classroom learning everything from contemporary art to records management, currently continuing her masters education at San Jose State and bringing her diverse teachings to students at the University of La Verne.
Anderson, a recent graduate of UC Riverside’s graduate program, brings to the university a fresh perspective on communicating since she began teaching in August.
“I have the ability to make information in my class available to students from various backgrounds because of the interdisciplinary quality of my background,” Anderson said.
With an impressive resume, Anderson has already done so much and all by the age of 25.
“I think many students were taken a bit off guard because I look so young. They probably thought I was a student,” Anderson said.
A Riverside native, Anderson attended school in her hometown up until her move to college, attending Cal State San Bernardino.
After graduating in 2011 she continued on to complete a master’s degree in history of photography and modern and contemporary art at UC Riverside.
Anderson’s time at UCR was what inspired her to become involved in teaching.
“As a graduate student at UC Riverside, I had several teaching opportunities that included teaching art and art history to underserved elementary schools in the Inland Empire and working as a teaching assistant,” Anderson said.
“For me, these experiences were so rewarding that I decided that I want to make education a permanent part of my life.”
Anderson described her first day of teaching as nerve wracking but also very exciting.
Anderson spends about 16 hours a week on campus teaching her introductory public speaking courses and being available for office hours.
“Having her come in, an old friend to the debate team, has been helpful in the transition of a new coach,” senior political science and economics major and former debate captain Ava Jahanvash said. “She is fun and fits right in with the team.”
Anderson is currently obtaining a second master’s degree, a master’s of information and library science along with archival studies and records management.
The diversity of Anderson’s educational background has put her among a group of well-rounded colleagues in the speech communication department.
“The speech communication department is so fantastic because all of the faculty members have such unique backgrounds that allow us to develop diverse courses and teach in different ways that meet the needs of the students,” Anderson said.
Anderson applies the basics of public speaking to such things like work presentations, job interviews and first dates.
“As a naturally shy person, professor Anderson makes it easy to have the strength to get up in front of my peers and speak,” sophomore business major Rebecca Rodgers said.
When there are no classes to teach or debate practices to coach, Anderson enjoys cooking and traveling to art museums and galleries.
“My favorite hobby though is being a student, which I plan to continue this upcoming fall,” Anderson said.
Alana Glenn can be reached at alana.glenn@laverne.edu.
