Why UW-Whitewater

BRENDA RUST O'BEIRNE

The simple and straightforward answer to why I teach is the "students." They bring joy and challenge and wonder to every moment and every interaction. Students ensure that no two days will be alike, and that there will always be new possibilities for discovery and connection. Students help me to know that I can make a difference, one person at a time, in their present and their future. Students help me to keep my learning alive, and they remind me that I have the obligation, opportunity and privilege of sharing my passion for my work and my service.

Teaching and learning happens through relationships. Students share their lives and their stories, their hopes and their vulnerabilities, and I get to help them make meaning as they work toward their dreams. In that process, I share myself - my knowledge, beliefs, biases, humanness, and deep caring. I truly believe that teaching is about sharing love - not love of content or particular discipline (though I feel that too) -- love of fellow human beings who have invited us to walk with them on their journeys. What an incredible privilege!

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