Erica Eddy, M.S.

Erica Eddy, M.S.

A typical day in my profession depends on the day of the week.  What I like the most is helping students in person, but some prefer to contact me via email.  Other parts of the day include preparing for class, grading, making up new assignments.  Technology is always changing, which means I continually update my software knowledge.  This requires frequent updates to lectures, class activities and examples.  I chose my profession because I majored in Math in college (I was interested in majoring in Music as well - until I realized it actually mattered that I couldn’t play the piano).  Computer Science was a new field at the time and not many schools offered it as an undergraduate degree. However, I saw that my chosen set of math classes were those that were recommended for someone going on to study Computer Science.  After college, I took some classes at the College of Lake County for a year and went on to graduate school at the University of Iowa.

Currently, I am teaching a class that I haven’t taught for the past seven years which means learning some new material, right along with my students.  As I get used to teaching a course, I try to add more active and cooperative learning opportunities during class.  I like to give students more interesting programming projects for which they can find a real use in their lives.  I don’t expect students to learn everything right away; it was not easy for me to learn this material, and I remember that!  Students need to feel comfortable making mistakes and learning how to correct them – I want them to realize that mistakes are not a horrible thing.

Outside of teaching, I sing in my church choir and have a new puppy. I like to also spend time reading, gardening, cooking, listening to music, traveling and canoeing. My husband and I, along with two friends, have a goal to canoe the entire Wisconsin River from the headwaters in the U.P. of Michigan to Prairie Du Sac.  We do a few days each year, and this year we plan on finishing. I’ve travelled to Germany as well as England and New Zealand, and would like to visit the Scandinavian countries sometime.  Yet, there are many places in the U.S. I have not seen, such as the Grand Canyon, and hope to do so someday.