 English assistant professor becomes a favorite among MSU students
The words of William Butler Yeats live in Sam Koenen's heart.
A senior at Montana State University, Koenen had never heard of
the Irish poet and mystic until he took a class in British
literature.
Now, the shy, deep-voiced English major can recite phrases from
his best-loved Yeats' poems and, more bravely, has taught
portions of the poet's works to local eighth-graders.
"They loved him," Koenen said.
Myles Thornburg is less passionate about a single author than
with the study of literature as a whole. Literature's world of
ideas, its development and the role it plays in understanding the
human condition have swayed him toward applying for graduate
school.
"And I'm not easily swayed," he confessed.
Koenen loves Yeats and Thornburg is headed toward graduate school
owing to the influence of one instructor--a diminutive, energetic
assistant professor of English named Kimberly Myers. And although
good teaching occurs all over campus, what sets Myers apart,
observers said, is the impact she's had in the short time she's
been at MSU.
"The unique part is she's hit the ground running in inspiring
exceptional students," said Jaynee Drange Groseth, director of
the MSU Alumni Association.
Three students, including Koenen, recently chose Myers as the
faculty member most inspirational to them for this year's Awards
for Excellence. The awards are given by the Alumni Association
and the Chamber of Commerce.
"I was pretty excited about that," Myers enthused.
The first award letter was a surprise, the second she thought was
a duplicate, and the third, she said, stupefied her. Other MSU
faculty have been chosen for the awards repeatedly over the
years, but three such awards in one year is an accomplishment,
Groseth said.
"She totally loves what she does," said Hailey Haffey, a junior
from Anaconda. "She makes a point to give everyone the attention
they need."
"I think the No. 1 thing is she cares for her students and you
can tell," said senior Kathryn Newby, who took an experimental
course from Myers. "She'll be one of the professors I remember
and look back on and appreciate."
Myers came to MSU in 1997 from her native North Carolina,
traveling first across the "unrelenting space" of the Montana
prairies, which terrified her, to the mountains near Bozeman that
reminded her of home.
With her came 13 years of teaching, including seven years at a
high school, and a doctoral degree in modern literature from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Irish literature is
one of her specialties but not because she's of Gaelic descent.
"The best literature now is coming out of Ireland," Myers
asserted one day in her office. "That's a strong statement to
make, but it's true."
Irish poet Seamus Heaney, who won a Nobel Prize in 1995, is an
example, Myers said. Talking about him made her reach for a
volume of his poetry and read a sonnet out loud. The poem is
about Heaney's mother, and Myers read it with such intensity that
the man's love for his mother rang clear.
Students said such passion is evident in the classroom, every
day. Myers makes the material breathe, they said. Her
presentations are polished and yet she is flexible enough to
circle back for students who aren't catching on. Her lectures are
more of a dialogue where students are challenged to think and
expected to participate.
They said her office hours seem unlimited, extending to sessions
in her home with small groups of students like Thornburg who are
interested in teaching college one day. Newby, a history major,
asked Myers for help on an independent project for another class.
"She had so much else to do but made the time to read the paper"
and offer suggestions, Newby said.
But students also describe Myers as demanding and tough.
"She is not an easy professor to study under at all," said
Thornburg. "She will discomfort you in the sense that she will
make you achieve much more than you thought you could."
With this kind of intensity and pace, does Myers worry about
burn-out?
"I absolutely think that's a good question to ask. I really do,"
she said.
And then Myers hesitated, worried that what she was about to say
would sound corny. "I really think that [teaching] is the
pinnacle of existence," she finally said. "There is no difference
between what I do and living a life."
--Annette Trinity-Stevens
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