New Kid on the Block

New Kid on the Block

Rebecca Holmes, Staff Writer

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you were the �new kid�? Was it scary? Were you nervous?

As of this semester, Angela Bullard is a new faculty member on staff in the English department. She teaches some of the following courses in writing and literature: first and second-year composition, Shakespeare, poetry, women writers, British literature and children�s literature.

Bullard has an incredible passion and a calling for teaching at North Greenville. She said, �I came from a secular college but felt God was calling me to teach at a Christian university. When I interviewed at NGU, I was impressed by what I would label ‘the authenticity of people�s faith.’ I could sense that the faculty who interviewed me put Christ first and that swayed me above all else.� 

Bullard also has a strong sense of the importance of a Christian education. She states, �Education is good because it allows us to defend our faith and share our faith cogently with others while also giving us a better understanding of the world as God made it, but an education on its own is an empty pursuit.�.

Bullard has been an educator since 2002. She has also taught at a variety of schools such as: a Christian middle and high school in California, California State University in San Bernardino, Texas Christian University and at the University of Wisconsin-Marathon County. For those that have changed majors more times than you would like to remember, there is good news: Bullard changed majors three separate times before she decided on an English major.

You have read �educator since 2002� and immediately began thinking of how many funny classroom stories Bullard must have to tell. Lucky for you she does.

About six years ago, Bullard was discussing “Hamlet” and how his appearance signified his declining mental state to her Intro to Shakespeare class. Bullard said, “As I became engulfed in explaining the passage, I started using big gestures. Then I heard some laughing and whispers, so I slowed down. That was when I realized that the wrap-around sweater over my shirt was coming undone. Like Hamlet in the passage we were discussing, I was literally unravelling at the seams.�

According to Bullard, being the �New Kid on the Block� as a faculty member at North Greenville University is very similar to being a freshman in college. She also points out that it isn�t only a new school, but rather a new city, a new group of people, a new church, and a new culture. She said, �Like first-year students, new teachers not only have to adjust to new expectations, but also have to learn how to navigate a new environment.� Bullard concluded with, �I am delighted with the warm, positive Christian atmosphere at NGU.�

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