FEATURE

Featured Teacher: Elvis Smith

By Michael Mishler
Contributor

Instructor: Elvis Smith
Class: Adjunct Communications professor, 22 years at WCC
Hometown: Canton, MI

Q: Why did you choose to work at Washtenaw Community College?
A: I was teaching at Eastern Michigan University and I was invited to teach here to fill a spot. I’ve been able to come back every year and I enjoy teaching here because of the facilities, the closeness to home and to Eastern.

Q: What is the most satisfying part of your job?
A: It’s working with students and seeing students succeed, especially if it’s those that are not sure if they will succeed or not. I teach the basic speech course COM (communication) 101 here and I get students who are sometimes not sure if they can do that, so it’s always great to see them succeed.

Q: What was the most exciting moment of your childhood?
A: I got to meet Jackie Robinson. My dad was in politics. I think it might have been during the 1968 presidential election.

Q: If you won the lottery, how would you spend it?
A: Obviously one of the things I’d do is do some traveling. I enjoy traveling more than anything right now. I’d also probably set up some sort of foundation for myself, probably create some scholarships and do some philanthropic work.

Q: Where would you build your dream house?
A: I love traveling to Florida now, so I’m familiar with that area, so I’d probably say in Florida, some place on the water like Clearwater or Ft. Myers.

Q: If you could time travel, what time would you go to?
A: I would like to go back to the time just before the turn of the 20th century, just before the advent of the automobile, just to see what that time was like. That was the time of my great-grandparents, I got to know them and they told me stories of what it was like to ride in their first automobile. They still had some modern conveniences, but it was a time of great technological change. It was when the industrial revolution was really kicking into gear.

Q: Where is your possible future travel destination?
A: I would really like to travel abroad, I’d like to go to England.

Q: What is your favorite movie?
A: There are a lot of movies that I like. I haven’t seen any movies recently, but I like “The Sound of Music.” I love the old MGM musicals from the ‘40s and ‘50s, I really enjoy watching those.

Q: What is your favorite type of restaurant?
A: I love Chinese food, when my wife and I go out, we always look for a Chinese restaurant. My favorite dish is usually sesame chicken or chicken with broccoli.

Q: Where do you see yourself in ten years?
A: I will probably still be here. I might be semi-retired, but I’ll probably still be teaching.