The Professor of Speech

Professor Jennings is the Assistant Professor for English and Communication and a professor for a class many people fear. Public Speaking. Why does he teach this class? What does he like? It's time to do an on the spot interview with this interesting professor. From learning about why he teaches what he teaches to learning what he does in his spare time, let stop and take the chance to talk to this professor.

Professor Jennings enjoys being the public speaking professor because he gets to meet interesting people and interact with them. Just like the rest of his family he likes the public. His grandfather and great grandfathers were both bus drives. (Actually, his grandfather met his grandmother on the bus and he asked her out on their first date.) One of his sisters is a nurse; the other is a pharmacist and his father helps people file for employment. So helping the public is something that seems to run in his family and he continues the tradition.

Jennings likes that he can teach people new skills and help them when it comes to public speaking. He also enjoys listening to speeches and has found them to be interesting. Some of the interesting ones have been about prevented carpal tunnel symptoms and how to make chocolate candy. But before he became a professor for UCBA he was a professor at The University of Michigan. He remembered some crazy times on that campus. For example, a week before the game students would camp around the bronze "M" on the campus sidewalk to keep other rivaling colleges from defacing it. Though he had many great times there he and his wife moved to Cincinnati where he worked at main campus for eight years before coming to UCBA. He likes UCBA a lot because he can get to know each of his students on more one-on-one bases. Though he likes UCBA, the fact that it's only a two year college makes him feel he doesn't get to see his students long enough. Jennings likes that each one of his students is different and the different things that students have unintentionally taught him. Like how Facebook and technology not only helps us but it can be used as a creative outlet for his students. Jennings enjoys all of his students but one thing that annoys him about his students is when they mutter. He feels that if you have something to say you should say it out loud and not try to hide it. One of his many challenges he faces as a professor is juggling work, home and personal life and trying to keep it all balanced. Thought it seems the toughest around exam week he feels he does a pretty good job at it.

As a child, Jennings favorite class was English and Literature where he would memorize parts of Shakespeare's plays like Hamlet, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet and preform them in the front of his class. This was when he noticed he was not afraid to speak in front of others and that he really enjoyed doing it. In college he continued with public speaking and toured with his speech class around the USA talking to many different colleges. He also remembers as a child going to his grandparents' house which was surrounded by woods and trees and late at night he would stay up just to see the bright stars in the sky. He enjoys the memories that he shares with his sisters Jodie and Judy and the times he went camping in the trailer with his family. Because of his trips to his grandparents' house he began to have a respect for nature and its beauty. Once when he was little, loggers cut down the tress surrounding his grandparents' house. When the trees where gone he began to have a better respect for nature and the beauty that it holds.

Now as an adult there is still a lot to learn about him. He has a dog name Flannigan with a very interesting story behind him. Jennings and his daughter went to the store one day and when they got there they saw a display for a no kill special needs shelter. The display had small dogs that the shelter was giving up for adoption and Flannigan was one of them. When Flannigan was very young he broke his leg and it was never reset correctly so it healed straight. When his daughter saw the dog she absolutely loved him but they left the store without him. On the car ride home Jennings noticed his daughter softly crying in the back seat. When he asked what was wrong, she cried that the poor puppy had no family and he was all alone and because of this she was sad. After a week had pass and with a bit of discussion with his wife they decided to bring the brown little guy home.

If Jennings could be any other person besides himself he said he would be the doctor from Dr. Who. Jennings would love to travel through time and meet new and interesting people. If he could be a super villain he said he would be Lex Luther for the pure and simple fact, that Lex Luther is bald. His dream car is one that runs on electricity and takes very little gas. His dream house he says is where he lives in now; he absolutely loves it and it's his first and hopefully only house. In his spare time he likes to play with his kids, playing board games like scrabble and play on his guitar. He also loves working on and makes guitars as well. His favorite colors are blue and green. Blue is the color of his children's eyes and green is the color of his wife's eyes. His favorite movie is Citizen Kane which is about a man who has tons of money but still isn't happy. It's his favorite movie because he likes the camera angles and it has a great story line. His favorite candy is Reese cups and his favorite ice cream is peanut butter and chocolate swirl. Jennings favorite TV show is Dr. Who and his favorite music is rock and roll. He likes listening to the Beatles and Pink Floyd. One day he wants to retire and when he does he wants to visit his kids, volunteer, play board games and start a board game club.