When I’m not teaching, I love to: Walk and read and swim. I love to travel, especially to Europe. I’m a fan of movies and the occasional video game. My favorite things to do are to get a group of people over at my house to hang out, eat, and maybe play a board game. Alternatively, a cookout by a pool is acceptable.

In my classes, students can expect: I once heard a professor say that our job as instructors is simply to teach students where the library is. I like that. The point that professor was making is that our job is to teach students how to find answers for themselves. We will always have course material we must cover, and I will work to teach that material in a way that is useful and enjoyable. Ultimately, however, my greatest hope is that my classes are laboratories that teach students how to teach themselves. Students in my classes can expect to read and discuss primary source material, to write, and to connect this material to their current lived experience. Ultimately students can expect to develop habits of thinking and communicating that will serve them in any vocation.

My best advice to a new student in my program is: Read. And ask questions.

Because of my influence, I most want my students to become: Thoroughly equipped for the work of the kingdom.

The myth-busting truth about my discipline I most want people to understand is: The myth that is most unhelpful regarding my discipline is that history or English or the humanities is impracticable. When done correctly my discipline gives individuals the tools they need to think critically and communicate effectively. It connects them to their context and allows for greater creativity. The study of the humanities has the ability to enrich our lives, while also developing skills useful to any profession.

A quote that influences how I live is: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” -Jesus