Humans of NGU: Lara Eller
Alyssa Waller, Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Lara Eller
Lara Eller works at North Greenville University as an instructor in the mass communication department.
Eller went to a small school in southern West Virginia and got her English degree. She then studied post-graduate journalism at West Virginia University. When she moved there, she got an assistantship, which meant that she was a teacher’s assistant.
She worked with an older Lebanese man who wasn’t the best with computers. She enjoyed working with technology and helped him out. That is where she learned that she wanted to do this for the rest of her life.
Part of the reason Eller wanted to be a teacher was because of her love for the college atmosphere. She mentions how there are so many opportunities here at NGU for building relationships and free theatre tickets.
The college atmosphere is where Eller thrives, and it’s her favorite place to be. She thought that if she worked within the college atmosphere, it would be a nice opportunity because, “If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life,” Eller recited.
Eller loves teaching at NGU. She started at 25 years old and didn’t know much about teaching at NGU or NGU itself. She decided that teaching classes are a lot of work; she does way more homework than students do. Students don’t know at the start, but she tends to let the fact slip in class.
Eller enjoys helping students with advising, but it is a double-edged sword. The paperwork can be brutal, but she loves getting students to a comfortable schedule. She wants students to have more excitement, dive further into their studies, specialize in areas and make the overall experience more fun.
Relationships are what Eller enjoys most about the job. She finds the naivety and excitement of freshmen adorable. She gave an example of one student who had asked, “Do we have a substitute?” when Eller had told the class she was not going to be there. In college, if the professors is gone for a day, the class is gone with them. She finds seniors less charming since they seem to constantly want to leave.
Eller loves helping freshmen become adults.
Eller’s favorite class to teach varies based on the students. She does the most work for Social Media Management because she is always keeping up with her students. Another class she enjoys teaching is Photojournalism because it is creative, fun and she enjoys editing photos.
Next semester, she is excited to teach Sports Writing again, but her favorite classes are always the ones with her favorite students.
She refers to college students as her college kids. So whenever she talks about her kids, she is talking about her students. She prefers adults over children, but college students are at just the right age for Eller.
