In the fall of 2016 semester at BMC, many new professors, adjuncts and full-time, were added to the faculty to fill in for the classes that were overbooked or had too many students. This being my senior year, I didn't expect to have any of the new additions, however I quickly learned every single one of my teachers, except 2, are new! During the first couple of weeks of class, I found myself curious over who these new people are... Have they ever taught before? What are they like? How do they take their coffee? Well, maybe that one is too random. However, I decided to set up interviews with a couple of the new members on the staff to unsolved their mystery...This is their story -Law and Order SVU music plays-
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of every week, I walk the dreadful path to the Education building, mostly in tall shoes, for Early US History. It's not an easy task, I might add, walking on gravel with three inch booties, but fashion is a must as is the class, therefor, it must be done.
Dr. Thomas Cockrell, a native of Louisville, Mississippi and former department chair for 15 years at BMC, is currently an adjunct professor of history. When asked what made history so passionate for him, he replied “Everything is history.” Teaching history to college students has fulfilled a lifelong dream of working with young people in a positive setting. With over 35 years of experience, he has taught at Mississippi State University, LSU, and recently retired from Northeast Mississippi Community College. He met his wife of 23 years. She is a BMC graduate and former Director of Admissions while teaching at BMC. When asked what advice he would give to a "twenty something year old,", his reply was “never lose sight of your dreams and always seek God’s purpose in your life.” A fun fact I learned about him during our coffee sitting at Hebrews one morning is that he was a Radio DJ and Sportscaster while in college. Not many of my professors have done that before!
Every Tuesday and Thursday, I have New Testament at 8:00 AM (the struggle is real) with the new Dr. Brown on campus. Though he is new, this man is absolutely crazy about God and teaches the subject with a great passion. Passion I say- the very first class period, he opened his lecture yelling "UNCLEAN!!!" This referring to a story in the Bible we learned about that day. Matthew Brown is the pastor at Gaston Baptist Church in Booneville, MS. He has been married for 20 years and has four children. When asked how he met his wife, his response was very intriguing to someone like me- a theatre nerd. "We met on stage at a local theatre. We played husband and wife in a show called 'Two Fools Who Gained A Measure of Wisdom.' It was love at first sight." I kind of shrieked with excitment when I learned he too loved the stage. I also learned that Dr. Brown's inspiration for teaching was none other than Dr. Meeks, also a Bible teacher. "He was the greatest inspiration over teaching the Bible." Little did he know, he would one day be teaching alongside his very own inspiration. I asked Dr. Brown what his most prized possession was and his response- "All of my books." I'm comforted with the knowledge of having a professor that truly loves to read and talk about Jesus.
On Thursday mornings at 10:40, I have one of my own major's classes, Classical Theatre, with Laurie McBride. The theatre students were all very skeptical of her at first, seeing as she has huge shoes to fill from Mr. Andre, the previous theatre professor. However, getting to know her, I realized her love for theatre was just like ours. It's home for us all. When asked " Why theatre? What is it that you love?", she responded with a very thoughtful answer. "Identifying with the characters, I guess. The audience forgets you and who you are, and sees the character instead." Something I absolutely loved finding out about this adjunct, is that she was in a movie! She played a featured extra in the film, 'Cookie's Fortune' during her late thirties/ early forties and quotes she "loved the experience and camera time." She has been married for 25 years to a man that once helped her hang blinds in her apartment when she was in college. When offered to pay him, he refused and said " You can just cook me dinner sometime." McBride also teaches Public Speaking at North East Community College and enjoys studying, walking, and being the Educational and Missions Director at First Baptist Church in Booneville. I asked her what advice she would give to a college student. She replied with "If it's doubtful, it's dirty." Very clever, McBride...very clever.
And finally, the new full-time band director, Brandon Hardin. Though I am not involved with band, I am very much involved with the music and theatre department at Blue Mountain, so I see him around all the time. The school was fortunate enough to hear the band Friday morning during chapel, and it's safe to say they were extremely impressive. Receiving a standing ovation, the band members were overjoyed with such a wonderful response. And who do they have to thank for for that? Mr. Hardin! He married his high school sweetheart he met in- you guessed it- band! "She was a drummer and I played the trumpet" he said very happily. They have four children together. Other than conducting our band, Mr. Hardin also plays the trumpet, guitar, and piano. You can sometimes find him up on stage during Chapel helping lead worship. When he's not involved with music,he enjoys hanging out with his family and leading worship in church. I asked him about his love for music and the passion that plays into that. "It's a universal language and it has the ability to help you connect with God." What a wonderful Godly person Blue Mountain has to lead students in our school's newest addition.
There are so many new teachers present at Blue Mountain that I was unable to interview due to lack of time. However, I encourage you, the students, to get to know them! They are all human and have interesting traits and facts about them. I mean who would have guessed my history teacher was a radio DJ or my Bible teacher is into theatre? Who would have guessed that my theatre teacher was once in a movie and the new band director met the love of his life doing what he loves in life? I truly enjoy my classes better knowing a little bit more about whose teaching them, and I think all of you would too. Give it a try!
