The Faculty Corner

The Faculty Corner Karen Burgard

How long have you worked at Texas A&M- SA?

This is my third year here at A&M-SA.

What is your favorite part with working with A&M-SA students?

Being part of the campus community is incredibly important to me. I enjoy attending the events on campus during the day as well as in the evenings and on the weekends. I also really enjoy representing A&M-SA out in the community attending local events in San Antonio proudly showing my Jaguar spirit. So, I would say what I contribute to the campus is my commitment to University, our students, and our community in all aspects of what I do.

Describe your teaching style?

Getting to know the students and building relationships with them. I enjoy learning about their professional goals, their personal goals, what is important to them, what their hopes and dreams are for the future. Making a connection with my students and helping them succeed in all the ways that are important to them is, without a doubt, the best part of working at A&M-SA. I want my classroom to be a place where all my students feel like they have a voice and that voice matters. I try to create a space where every student feels welcome and that their thoughts and opinions have worth. So, all my teaching starts from that core philosophy. I like to use both small and whole group class discussions. I have my students write and research enabling them to connect their classroom learning to their future careers as educators. And most of all, I want my students to enjoy learning in my class. We laugh. We celebrate each other’s successes. We collaborate. We reflect and discuss. We engage in ideas. So, I have fun in my classes, and I hope my students do as well.

If you could be on any reality tv show which one would you choose and why?

Cupcake Wars (or really any of the baking reality TV shows). I would be the helper/ assistant person who puts things in the oven and then brings them over to the real baker who knows what they’re doing.

What is one piece of advice you would give to TAMUSA students pursuing a College of Education degree?

I would tell any student who is pursuing an education degree two pieces of advice one deals with life on-campus and the other is outside of campus: 1) Go to your professors’ office hours. We want to see you and talk with you and help you succeed in any way we can. It is so important to come meet with us, ask us questions that you have about our class, get help from us when you need it, or just to build relationships with us. So, go see your professors. 2) I would recommend substitute teaching or volunteering in the schools anytime that you are able to do so. The more experience you have in the schools as you progress through our program, the easier it will be to connect what you’re learning in class to real-world experiences.

“Being part of the campus community is incredibly important to me. I enjoy attending the events on campus during the day as well as in the evenings and on the weekends.

The Faculty Corner Dr.Ruby A. Daniels

How long have you worked at Texas A&SA? What do you contribute to the campus?

My first semester at Texas A&M San Antonio was Fall 2019. I contribute as a marketing lecturer in the College of Business, who teaches various marketing courses: MKTG 3311 Principles of Marketing – The introduction to marketing class required of all business majors in the College of Business MKTG 3341 Marketing Research – This course teaches business majors the importance of gathering intelligence to better understand consumers MKTG 3361 Service Marketing – This course focuses on the unique challenges associated with selling services, such as healthcare, hospitality, transportation, food services, etc. MKTG 4361 Marketing Management – This senior capstone course in marketing provides students the opportunity to connect their marketing knowledge with all the other core business classes (management, accounting, finance, information technology, and human resources) in their degree program.

What is your favorite part of working with A&M-SA students?

My students feel like a part of my extended family. I graduated from Texas A&M in College Station so I have a special bond with them. They are eager to learn and embrace the challenge! They remind me of the wonderful life lessons I learned while at Texas A&M.

“My students feel like a part of my extended family. I graduated from Texas A&M in College Station so I have a special bond with them. They are eager to learn and embrace the challenge!

Describe your teaching style

I use an interactive teaching style to provide students with the opportunity to share their personal experiences with marketing. As we critically analyze everything from new product development to Super Bowl advertising, students learn about the role marketing plays in their personal and professional lives. To provide you with a peek at my teaching style, here’s a link to a video I share with students at the beginning of the MKTG 3311 class - https://

youtu.be/9mDgQxJfz_E

If you could be on any reality tv show which one would you chose and why?

Shark Tank – This popular business reality program showcases the hard work and dedication of creative entrepreneurs. Such people represent the American Dream in action. Their clever ideas inspire as well as entertain. My favorite Shark Tank moment was when billionaire Mark Cuban said “Everybody has a plan … until they get punched in the face!” I ask my marketing students, “What will YOU do when your business gets ‘punched in the face’?

What is one piece of advice you would give to TAMUSA students pursuing a Business degree?

Learn the hard stuff! If you only take easy classes, you’ll never develop the determination and drive to you need to stand out in a competitive marketplace.

The Faculty Corner Megan Pope

How long have you worked at Texas A&M- SA? What do you contribute to the campus?

I have been part of the A&M family since 2016 when we welcomed our first class of first-year students. I was the first full-time faculty member hired to teach speech courses here, and we just keep growing. It’s fantastic to watch buildings go up, degree programs created, and departments grow. Besides teaching speech courses, myself, Jenny Moore from the Communication program, Heather Olague of FYE, Bryant Moore from the library, and Courtney Bobb-Meilinger (another speech faculty member) held the first student speech showcase performance on campus in 2018. Students in SPCH 1315 courses gave a narrative speech as an in-class assignment, and the favorite speech (voted on by their peers) went onto the showcase. The students performed personal narratives around the FYE Common Read theme while Jenny Moore’s COMM reporting/media class produced and advertised the event. The event was a huge success, and we went on to do another one in 2019. I hope we can continue this event in the fall of 2020.

What is your favorite part of working with A&M-SA students?

Their joie de vivre. Their zest for life. A&M-SA students are excited about their futures, happy to be in school, and have big plans. I enjoy just tagging along for the ride. They have big goals and will stop at nothing to achieve those goals.

Describe your teaching style.

Serious with a side of silly. My students work hard, but I enjoy keeping things light when I can. I enjoy making an academic pun joke.

If you could be on any reality tv show which one would you choose and why?

House Hunters International! How fun would it be to move to a new country for a semester? I would love to live in Europe for a bit, to experience culture and history. Teaching in another country has always been a dream of mine. I hope to teach study-abroad one day.

What is one piece of advice you would give to TAMUSA students pursuing a College of Arts and Sciences degree?

Grow. Stagnation is the enemy of success in my opinion. Learn all that you can, take every opportunity thrown your way, try new things, meet new friends, learn new skills, read many books, travel if possible. Your hero probably didn’t achieve all that they did by staying safe, in their status quo bubble. The world is large, explore what it has to offer.

“Grow. Stagnation is the enemy of success in my opinion. Learn all that you can, take every opportunity thrown your way, try new things, meet new friends, learn new skills, read many books, travel if possible. Your hero probably didn’t achieve all that they did by staying safe, in their status quo bubble.