Faculty Spotlight - Nina Benedetti
What do you teach at EvCC?
I teach within our Transitional Studies Division and Department. Our high school completion program offers courses in many different subjects including math, reading, writing, social studies and science, all of which I have taught at some point. I also occasionally teach College 101. Currently, I am teaching one of the first quarter classes for our Youth Re-Engagement (U3) program.
Tell us a little about your professional background.
Teaching is a second career for me. My first, short-lived, career was as a teen counselor working with adolescents and then I became a chemical dependency counselor and case manager working with drug-addicted mothers. During those years, I became a mom of two boys (16 months apart in age) before I was 21 years old.
At the age of 23, I found myself going through a divorce. The income I was making as a counselor was not very high. I knew I needed to go back to school to make the income level I desired to support myself and my two sons. So, I decided to quit working to go back to school full-time. I started at my local community college in Santa Clarita, California: College of the Canyons. I graduated with my Associate of Arts in Social Science back in 1997.
Then, I transferred to Seattle University and got my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 1999. I continued on with Seattle University within their Education department. I found my niche within the Adult Education and Training program and fell in love with the idea of having the skills to teach adults successfully. We have all had those professors who were experts in their field but failed miserably at knowing how to teach in their area of expertise. So, getting a Master’s that helped me better teach adults was perfect. If I would ever continue on with getting my doctorate to teach at a university, I knew that this pathway would help me to be a better teacher no matter what subject I taught.
I received my Master of Education in 2002 at the age of 29. I managed to land a job here at Everett Community College about two months after graduating. I taught in our Work Force Training Department teaching women who were on TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) who needed to improve their skills.
My first quarter teaching basic skills classes, I taught reading and writing. I had adults of all ages who had very little reading skills. I will never forget that first quarter. One of my students was a Vietnam vet who had been illiterate his whole life. Another student was a young mother from Iraq who was learning to read and write English. Through my class and practicing their reading and English skills, these two shared stories with one another that were intense and brough the entire class together. My vet shared his story of hiding inside a hollowed out tree while Agent Orange was sprayed overhead and my young mother shared her story of running for her life towards the hills with her young children while biological weapons were released over her head. By the end of the quarter, both students, along with the others in the class, had grown close to one another and also grown as readers so much! We read “Holes” in class. The vet told me at the end of class that “Holes” was the first book he had ever read cover to cover. He felt so proud of himself. I was so very proud of all of them.
I am coming up on my 19th year teaching at this college, and I still so love the work I do! These days, I spend more time outside of the classroom with my release time to oversee our high school completion program, completing my department chair duties, and serving as president of our faculty union. So, I only teach one class per quarter because of that.
Why did you choose EvCC?
I would say the better question is, “Why did you choose to stay with EvCC?” Well, I fell in love. My career here at the college has so far been through three presidents, seven vice presidents of Instructions, six deans, many faculty and staff, and thousands of students. We’ve had some wild times, fun times, wonderful times, sad times, and trying times. We’ve had many growing pains and learned so much from one another. But through it all, the students, faculty, staff, and administration have kept me coming back. The overall love that the majority of us have for education, learning, growing, and being there for our community in ways that universities cannot do keeps me here. EvCC has become my family, and I can’t imagine working any other place.
How has the pandemic affected you? How are you doing?
Luckily, I still have the large house that my children grew up in, so their old rooms are now offices for my husband and myself. I suppose the hardest part was learning how to separate my personal life from my work life when both were now happening under the same roof. Learning how to stay focused on one task at a time has been very challenging. I have ADHD, and working from home has magnified that.
Having a space for work where I can shut the door on that work has really helped me make that division in personal life and work life. Although, as anyone who has been in Zoom meetings with me can tell you, I do carry my laptop around with me to other areas of the house to help me get a new focus on things. I can’t sit still and concentrate on tasks easily unless it’s something that I totally love to do such as my livestream class. I can stay put for those.
How have you adapted your classes or your work to support students who are learning from home?
I had a unique serendipitous year starting in the fall. Before COVID, I had applied to Washington State University for their doctoral program and was accepted. So, on top of having a new work environment at home, I started their Doctorate in Educational Leadership program in August of 2020. I am taking two classes per semester. I finished my first semester with straight As! I have never done that before! I think that all of these years teaching study skills and practicing what I teach has helped me in being a better student.
Also, being a student during the COVID time has made me a better teacher. I am seeing first-hand what it is like having to show up at class at certain times, getting specific readings done, see what it is like to work in small groups, complete papers, revise papers, pray for good grades, pray for good teachers who know what they are doing, communicating with my teachers when I was feeling overwhelmed and hoping they would allow me to turn in work late, hoping my teachers would be okay with me missing parts of class to attend Board of Trustees meetings, juggling work, life, and school all at the same time. (Oh, and did I mention that my septic system failed in the middle of this pandemic? So, there’s that.).
With all of that going on, my allowance for late work has changed. With this being the U3 students’ first quarter on campus, I wanted to instill in them the importance of turning work in on time, so I was pretty rigid in this regard. However, during Fall quarter, I realized that there are better ways to deal with late work. I still require work to be turned in on time unless there are extenuating circumstances and the student has come to me beforehand to tell me what’s going on, but I have adjusted my resubmission policy to allow for resubmissions for full points in order for the students to grow and learn from my feedback.
If they had to rush to get an assignment in so it was on time but weren’t happy with the rush job they did on it, they now have the chance to go back over it and re-submit for full credit. It matches real-life. If I turn in a report that is missing key pieces of information, my boss will want me to fix it and not just forget about it and move on. Why wouldn’t I do that for my students as well?
What advice do you have for students who are taking online or livestream classes for the first time?
First, it’s important to know that the online world has become easier to navigate. Those who didn’t think they could do online classes might be pleasantly surprised at their ability to actually be a successful online student! I have surprised myself! If you are one of those people who felt that they needed to be face-to-face to learn, then look into livestream offerings here at the college.
Sitting in Zoom sessions are actually pretty intimate and you can get to know your teacher and your fellow students in many of the same ways you do when you are face-to-face in a physical classroom! I have made friends with fellow classmates at WSU. We’ve met for group study sessions virtually and working on projects together virtually. Of all the times for there to be a pandemic in this world, I feel as though we are fortunate in the education world to have the internet and so many products that can help us remain connected and allow us to continue working from home.
Second, give yourself grace. You must give yourself time to take care of you. Be sure to carve out time each day where you can do what you love to do. You’ve got to build in that time into your schedule in order to keep your sanity while in school.
Third, be honest with yourself. What can you realistically handle right now? You have GOT to be able to carve out time for your studies. How much time can you dedicate to your studies? If life is getting chaotic, allow yourself to say no to things you thought you could handle and may have said yes to originally. If things are confusing or you are feeling as though the class isn’t going well, talk to your professors! Come to our office hours or ask us to meet with you at a time that works for you. We are here to help. If you don’t talk to us, we can’t possibly know what is going on or how to help you succeed.
Fourth, be sure to use all services available to you. Take advantage of the services we have to offer. We have worked hard to make your virtual experience as close to what it would be like if you were physically in front of us. Our services like the Writing Center, Tutoring Center, Counseling, the library, BRIDGES Center, and Center for Disability Services are all here for you. Do not be afraid to access those services. Your tuition dollars pay for them, so use them.
What do you like to do for fun?
My fun time has involved doing home improvement projects. Over the winter break, I redid my full bathroom in the upstairs area of my house. I’ve been making plans to do a remodel on the rest of my house. I also have done some hiking with friends, which can be done in a socially distanced way. The other thing I have been doing for fun during this time that I can't see and hang out with most of my friends and family is working on my own health. I have lost about 60 pounds this past year. My pug dogs also bring me joy.
What is your favorite snack?
My go-to snacks these days are usually a small bowl of peanuts or a handful of fruit, like strawberries or grapes. Some days it’s Greek yogurt.