English becomes a lifestyle

Second language turns into blossomed profession

the best. She always tries to incorporate the whole class, I can’t even describe her. I have learnt so much.” purely by accident, and they were the necessary evil by which I could make money teaching without a degree. So I have sort of a love-hate relationship with computers, but I love helping people learn them.”

A life defined by the sensational power of adoption; her sister, Rose, is also adopted.

As if his experience as IT professional, power plant operator, international networking trainer, former student journalist and community college professor were not an eclectic enough combination, Schamus is also an accomplished musician. In addition to guitar and bass, he also plays an experimental instrument known as a “canjo.”

“I’ve got a couple Gibsons, a couple Fenders, my bass is a Warwick, and I have something called a canjo,” Schamus said. “A canjo is a thing a buddy of mine actually built. It’s a stick with a tin can and a string and a pickup. And you use it for playing like a slide guitar.”

Schamus has dedicated one room in his house entirely to music, and plays with friends whenever he can.

He has played guitar at a number of shows at local venues. One of his Pierce colleagues, music instructor Wayne Perkins, occasionally plays bass in the group.

“We played down at the mall right here, at Rock n’ Roll Pizza,” Perkins said. “And we played at a place in Topanga called Froggy’s.”

Perkins described the group as a “blues type of band,” and said they play “old school” rock and roll.

According to Perkins, the band mostly plays covers of the Rolling Stones, such as “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and “Brown Sugar.” He said Schamus is a good bandmate.

“[He’s] very congenial, very nice, and a very good player,” Perkins said.

As the chair of the computer science and information technology department, Schamus is a voting member of the Academic Senate.

Current Academic Senate President Kathy Oborn has known Schamus since he began working at Pierce, and spoke highly of him as both a senator and instructor.

“He’s a really, really nice guy,” Oborn said. “He loves teaching and he loves his students.”

When a new faculty member begins work at Pierce, they receive guidance from a faculty mentor. In Schamus’ case, that mentor was Oborn.

“I was his faculty mentor,” she said. “But he didn’t need much mentoring.”

Oborn said that as a colleague on the Academic Senate, he may not always agree with her, but he always has good reasons for his voting decisions and is friendly and professional.

“I always learn something from him,” she said.

Deck - Filipino born, American English Professor talks about the impact of adoption

English didn’t always come so easily to Maria Bates, she grew up speaking Tagalog in a Filipino orphanage until adopted age four by her parents who are two Americans, stationed in the Philippines.

“We eventually moved to California, and we moved all over Southern California due to our military status,” said Bates.

“My home was always temporary, but it was never boring, and I learned how to meet new people despite my childhood shyness.”

In her senior year, the soonto-be English teacher moved to Oxnard, where she became a Channel Islands Raider and met many life-long friends.

Bates describes her family members as ‘voracious readers’, who loved nothing more than books.

“We did not have a lot of money and were always on a tight budget, but we did not always notice,” said Bates.

“But there was one time that my sister desperately wanted Vans. We bought her a generic pair of shoes and I drew on the characteristic checkerboard on their soles. People really thought that she had Vans and I thought that I was Picasso!”

As children both Bates and Rose, her sister, put their imagination to work and enjoyed making innovative but somewhat useless creations to pass the time

“As children were always getting into trouble for taking things (such as their grandma’s false teeth)” Bates said.

Despite being an English professor, during her first year of school she spoke no English and couldn’t read in English until the end of first grade.

“I eventually became an English major and pursued a graduate degree in Education at UCSB,” said Bates.

“I taught at Milpitas High School for several years, then had the opportunity to earn my English PhD at UC Berkeley. After many years as a traveler, it feels wonderful to call Pierce my home!”

Maria Rubalcava, Undecided major and student of English 21 class speaks highly of Bates, “She is like a ray of sunshine, I can’t even describe her,” said Rubalcava “I’ve had a lot of English teachers, but she’s definitely

“She was one of the infants on the baby lifts, a program that rescued children from orphanages before the fall of Saigon,” said Bates.

“Since my life has been touched by the kindness of others, and I know that adoption transforms lives in tangible ways, I have always wanted to adopt.”

Three years ago, the life-long wish came true. In 2012 Bates became a mother to her daughter, Kimmy, who is now in first grade.

“The best thing about being an English Professor is the students,” said Bates.

“It is a profession where one gets to share the love of learning with others and to continuously learn as well; it has been an honor to spend my time with such kindred spirits.”

Ashley Waterman, a Math major, had Bates as an English Professor in 2011.

“She was a very organized Professor,” said Waterman.

“I was taking one of her classes as a GE requirement and learnt so much. You can tell she’s very passionate about her job.”

When she is not devoting time to her family, Bates spends her time as a co-creator of TechBlazers, an organization designed to teach middle school students how to use Adruino.

According to Adruino.cc, Adruino is an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. Its use is intended for anyone making creative or interactive projects such as building robots.

Always learning, never stopping, Bates learnt how to work a form of software called Drupal so she could create her own website.

“It is partly messed up as a result of my limited knowledge, but I consider myself a continual learner; I also serve as a resource for adoptive parents who have questions.” Bates said.

An optimist with zest for life, Bates believes that the best way to appreciate life is to do something for someone else.

“Whenever I would get too self-consumed as a teen, my grandmother would shake her head and say, ‘TRANSCEND YOURSELF!’” said Bates.

“This is a good mantra, and it has served me well throughout my life.”