. Chris Schank
. I was born November 29th, 1985, in Sacramento, California. Since then, I have lived in 6 states and one different country (Canada). Throughout all of their moving about, my parents have managed to leave each of their kids in different areas. My older brother lives in Virginia and little my sister in Illinois. I obviously ended up here in Alabama.
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. I live in Daphne with my wonderful wife, Erin, who is currently working towards a master's in CS here at South. We have no human children, but have two cats, a pekingese, a snake , and 13 fish that we call our family. The cats and dog were rescued from the equine and canine rescue we volunteer at in Loxley, Alabama.
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. This is my second time through the University of South Alabama. After a lot of praying and budgeting, my wife and I were both able to attend college again. I realized that a bachelor's in biology wasn't going to get me far by itself, especially if I wasn't planning on going to graduate school or working in a lab. I have chosen education as a second major for a number of reasons. In high school I found it hard to learn, not because I couldn't pay attention in class, because many teachers failed to present the material in a way that was interesting and engaging. I ended up being made to memorize large chunks of information without ever realizing the importance or applications of what I was learning. In high school, I had a science teacher that changed my perspective on learning entirely. I realized that a subject I had originally regarded as an impossibly tedious chore was not only fascinating, but fun. I would like to be that kind of teacher, the kind that gets kids excited about discovering the world around them.
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. Randy Pausch
. Having never heard of Randy Pausch, I found this seminar very informative and helpful, not only in reference to school, but also in the professional world. Having been in retail management for 10 years, time management is always a big deal. The simplest things, such as tackling the hardest thing first (and if they're all hard, the hardest of the hard first), would definitely decrease stress in the long run if implemented properly.