Come in and stay awhile: professors’ uniquely crafted offices
Caroline McNeely, Visual Arts Editor
Professors create warm and welcoming spaces for daily work, visiting students and colleagues. North Greenville University (NGU) professors bring their personality to the office along with a comforting atmosphere for students to find approachable.
Jeffery French, biology professor, spotlights his office pet snakes. Along with the snakes, French offers free stickers on his desk for students, toys for students to fidget with while meeting with him and a “free store” shelf where students can choose one free item to take with them. French always welcomes students to his office.
Michelle Heard, Spanish professor, collects items from all over South America in her office. Heard has traveled to many different places and loves to bring items back to her office to show students or remind her of fond memories and friends in other countries.
“Choose kindness and laugh often. Life is too short. You can spend it with regrets, or you can go forward and be joyful,” Linda Parker said. Linda Parker, education professor, decorates her office with a home-like and colorful essence for students to enjoy and always reminds them of the importance of choosing joy every day. Parker doesn’t have any windows in her office, so she created her own. The window behind her changes as the seasons change, which allows her to have a creative and fun window on her wall.
Lara Jackson, digital media professor, has 11 years-worth of her student’s artistic drawings and coloring pages around the walls of her office. It brings joy to Jackson as she can remember students from long ago, and see new students want to leave a drawing for her before they graduate. Jackson saves sticky notes and letters from students, as shown behind her, as well.
Allen McWhite, an intercultural studies professor, collects items from all around the world that he has traveled to. He inspires and welcomes students who have a heart for missions. One of McWhite’s favorite items is a drawing of the Lord’s Supper, but people from all around the world make up the 12 disciples.
Kristi Hammett, an education professor, has a calm, welcoming atmosphere for her students to enjoy with her. Hammett uses calm color, a decluttered space and natural light to help stressed or overwhelmed students take a deep breath when they step into her office.
Becky Thompson, an English professor, fills her room with toys of authors, toys students can play with and anything interesting that she enjoys. The most popular feature for visiting students is her sandbox that sits at the front of her desk for them to play with. Thompson collects toys of the authors she teaches about in her classes so that she can use visual aids in her classes as they discuss a particular author.
