FEATURES
40th year marks career journey for instructor
By today’s standards, 40 years of anything is a very long time. Forty years living in the same house, 40 years married to the same spouse, or 40 years employed by the same company. Forty years seems an eternity today, worthy of mythical and legendary status. For Mesa Community College’s longest employed faculty member, the time seems to have flown by.
Barbara Ellsworth has been an instructor at MCC since it opened in 1966. That’s twice as long as most of the current student body has been alive. Ellsworth teaches business computing classes, and contrary to what one might think, she is not a feeble, blue-haired, dusty old lady tottering around with the aid of a walker and hearing aid.
Ellsworth is vibrant, engaging, lively, and kind-hearted. She has seen remarkable changes take place at MCC between 1966 and 2006, and she feels fortunate to have been a part of it.
Ellsworth was hired by Mesa Community College in the Business Department teaching typing, general business, and business machines. The year was 1966 and MCC consisted of portable buildings on the south side of campus, smack in the middle of an alfalfa field with sheep grazing in pastures. Ellsworth enjoyed the time when the school was small, when the entire faculty knew each other well, ate their lunches together daily and took pleasure in common pursuits.
She misses the camaraderie and the close-knit feeling of the staff, although she is quick to point out improvements on today’s campus like beautiful grounds, large paved parking lots, more women department chairs, state-of-the-art computer equipment, and diversity in all aspects of the educational experience: people, courses, opportunities.
Colleen Norris, Business Department administrative secretary, met Ellsworth in 1990 as a student in her business calculations class. “She made it so much fun, it was one of my favorite classes,” Norris said. “She would egg us all on – she had a cool competition between two business classes, with a pizza prize for whoever got the best grades. She’s great, she’s a lot of fun, very down to earth.”
Today, Ellsworth teaches three business computer application classes. Her teaching style is friendly, folksy and focused. She has seen and heard every possible excuse for late assignments, inaccurate work or missed classes. Yet she remains open-minded and concerned about the success of her students. “I have always enjoyed teaching,” says Ellsworth. “I enjoy talking with and relating with students.” Ellsworth said she plans to teach until the mandatory retirement age of 70.
Ellsworth predicts the future of MCC will involve becoming a four-year institution offering bachelor’s degrees, despite objections from ASU. For herself, she foresees continuing writing and publishing, traveling and seeing more of the world. She is proud of her 40 years teaching, her children, and happy with her home, family and friends.
“I believe that life is a training ground where we learn and grow,” says Ellsworth. “It is exciting to learn and see what this world has to offer. The only time that challenges in your life become detrimental, is when you don’t learn from them. My challenge is to keep my focus on my family and assist them in meeting challenges effectively.”