Century College boasts a diverse and accomplished faculty dedicated to providing students with a high-quality education. This article delves into the backgrounds and experiences of several faculty members, highlighting their teaching approaches, educational achievements, and contributions to the college community. Among them is Alicia Andre, who has been teaching English, Reading, and English to Speakers of Other Languages for more than 23 years at the Community Colleges in Minnesota.
Alicia Andre: Fostering Independence and Collaboration
Alicia Andre has been a full-time faculty member in Century’s ESOL Department for the past five years. Before coming to Century College, she taught at Minneapolis Community College (MCTC) for 18 years. She teaches all courses: reading, writing, listening and speaking, and pronunciation.
Teaching Approach
For Alicia, teaching involves a collaboration between the teacher and students. She believes that teachers are responsible for planning interesting and engaging content that keeps students informed and challenged. Alicia likes to give students a lot of independence and try to encourage them to actively participate in class. She thinks of herself more as a coach.
Alicia believes that her job as an instructor is to provide the following:
- An environment that is conducive to learning
- Knowledge that will help students be successful in achieving their academic goals
- Materials, opportunities, and feedback that will motivate students to learn, and help them to be successful in their studies and professional life.
Education
Alicia holds a B.S. degree from the University of Minnesota in Technical Communications (1998), and an M.A. degree from San Francisco State University in English and English to Speakers of Other Languages.
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Notable Achievements
Alicia has acted as department chair at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. She has received two Teaching Excellence awards in the development of hybrid courses in listening, speaking and pronunciation. She assisted in the development of a college.
Hobbies
In her free time, Alicia enjoys tennis, movies, travel, and baking bread.
Other Notable Faculty Members
Besides Alicia Andre, Century College has many other notable faculty members, each with their unique expertise and teaching styles. Here are a few examples:
Jessica Bell: Integrating Research into Education
Dr. Bell has been teaching biology courses at Century College since 2011. She has worked to develop programs and strategies to incorporate primary research experiences for students early in their academic careers. These strategies include both laboratory based and literature based research in and out of the classroom. Her collaborative work has led to a primary author publication in educational pedagogies and presentations by her and her community college students in local and national forums. Dr. Bell has established and maintains fundamental STEM collaborations with neighboring institutions including being a Partner Instructor in Tiny Earth. Dr. Bell’s primary research focuses on antibiotic resistance.
Education: PhD, Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and Genetics, University of Minnesota; BA, Biology, Gustavus Adolphus College
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Michelle Blesi: Combining Industry Experience with Education
Michelle Blesi is a Certified Medical Assistant with 14 years of industry experience, who worked in the family practice area for 10 years, emphasizing clinical and laboratory skills. Changing her focus to leadership, she worked as a lead in the Nursing/Lab department and as a Clinical Manager prior to moving into education. As a Program Director and Unlimited Full Time Faculty member in the Medical Assistant Department at Century College since 2001, Michelle enjoys bringing her career experience into the classroom and making a difference in students’ lives.
Teaching Approach: Teaching provides her much opportunity for continual learning and growth and allows her the possibility to pass these opportunities on to her students.
Education: Diploma in Medical Assisting and certification through the AAMA; Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Community Psychology; Metropolitan State University, TES (Teacher Education Series) courses in spring 2005 at the University of Minnesota.
Melissa Borman: Art and Community Engagement
Melissa has been an educator for over 20 years. For 15 years she led summer programs at the Burren College of Art in Co. Clare Ireland. Recently she has served as a mentor at Minneapolis College of Art and Design and San Francisco Art Institute’s MFA Programs. Melissa is currently a full-time faculty member in Art and Gender Studies and Exhibitions Director at Century. It was through her position at Century that she partnered with a local Somali Artist to create the Young East African Artists Project.
Education: Masters of Fine Arts in Visual Art, San Francisco Art Institute
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Notable: Melissa’s work has been exhibited throughout the United States and internationally. She is a recipient of the Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative and Creative Support Grants, the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council Grant, and Rochester Art Center’
Jessie Breyer-Peterson: Passion for Psychology and Mental Health
Dr. Breyer-Peterson has a true passion for teaching psychology and educating people about mental health. She has been a full-time faculty member at Century College since 2011 and currently teaches Psychological Disorders, Introduction to Mental and Behavioral Health Work, Internship in Psychology, and Developmental Psychology: Lifespan. She coordinates the Mental and Behavioral Health Worker program and psychology internship, as well as directing Century’s Mental Health First Aid grant project, which provides free mental health training to students and employees.
Teaching Approach: She believes that we learn best when we are actually ‘doing something’ with the material, so in her classes, students have frequent opportunities to engage in active and experiential learning and learn from one another.
Education: MA and PsyD, Counseling Psychology, University of St. Thomas
Notable: Minnesota State Educator of the Year (2020); Minnesota State Board of Trustees Outstanding Educator Award; Minnesota Psychological Association Award for Outstanding Teaching
Jill Cadwell: Emphasizing Kindness and Thoughtful Engagement
Jill Cadwell has been teaching college-level English courses for over 20 years, and has been teaching at Century since 2002. She also consistently participates in administrative work on campus, whether as English Department Chair, MSCF Union Local Executive Committee Officer, or working on other initiatives important to Century College’s mission and for the benefit of students.
Teaching Approach: She sees each student as an individual, and she’s excited about what strengths he/she/ze already brings to their writing. She has the expertise and experience to diagnose weak spots and work kindly with students to improve those areas.
Education: 2017 Institute for Culturally-Responsive Pedagogy - Completed Semester-Long Training; 2002 Masters Degree in English (Teaching College English) from Saint Cloud State University; 1999 Baccalaureate of Arts Degree from Saint Cloud State University, Major: English, Minor: Human Relations
Notable: 2020 MinnState Board of Trustees Outstanding Educator; 2010 Century College Student Voice Award Recipient; 2009 Century College Student Voice Award Nominee
Faculty Directory
Below is a table with a list of faculty members at Century College:
| Name | Department |
|---|---|
| Gloria Abarca | General Maintenance |
| James Abbott | Communication |
| Melaku Abegaz | Faculty |
| Jeffry Abel | Engineering |
| Paul Aberasturi | Faculty |
| Caroline Abiaziem | Faculty |
| Tamany Abou Aiad | Faculty |
| Kali Adams | Human Resources |
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