Nora Corrigan Courtesy Photo
Jessica Cooper
Reporter
Dr. Nora Corrigan has been at MUW since 2008. Although MUW is a small college, Corrigan says that is one of her favorite things about teaching here. MUW’s strong sense of community is what she loves most about this school. Having a more personal relationship with students and colleagues has led Corrigan to be pro-active in more projects outside of the classroom, with her favorite being a study abroad program in Ireland for the summer of 2014.
Q. What led you to Columbus?
A. “I got a job here. I suspect most faculty members are here because we got a job.” (Corrigan said laughing.)
Q. What are some of your favorite subjects to teach?
A. “I really like early English. My first love is definitely Shakespeare. ”
Q. I know you are involved in a study abroad program to Ireland next year, can you tell me more about that?
A. “Oh, yes please. I don’t think we have a strong culture for study abroad here yet. I think it’s one of the most important things you can do when you’re in college. It causes people to think about where they really fit into the world. I spent a semester in Spain when I was in college, my brother spent a year in New Zealand, so it’s kind of one time in your life when you really get a chance to be immersed in another culture for a longer period of time. I think it’s really hard to replicate that experience after you’ve graduated, unless you get lucky enough to get a job overseas.”
Q. What will your trip to Ireland entail?
A. “Okay, we are going to be there about a month over the summer, May 28-June 29, basically the first summer session. So, we’ll be flying into Dublin and spending a few days there and then going out to the west of Ireland for about three weeks and coming back to Dublin for our last week. People will get a chance to experience two different cities; I think that’s going to be nice.”
Q. You’re also applying for tenure next year, what will that mean for you?
A. “Well, it means hopefully I’ll still have a job, once all this over.”
Q. What are some other projects you are involved in?
A. “I’m planning a Shakespeare film series for the spring semester right now. I thought we should do something to celebrate Shakespeare’s 450th birthday, so stay tuned for announcements about that.”
Q. What is some advice you can give to students in the future?
A.” I think one of the most important things that I’ve seen I think is that it’s really important to explore. I think it is kind of important to approach those general education classes with an open mind. The fact is that most students do end up switching their major at some point, and the big thing that’s good to know is that it’s good to experiment, if you decide you don’t want to do what you came in thinking that you what you wanted to do, that’s not a sign of failure it’s usually a sign of growth.”
Q. How has being at MUW influenced your life?
A.” I’d say first off I was really delighted to get this job because I always wanted to be at a smaller college. I think that one of the things that I really value about being here is the tremendous sense of community. I really love being at a smaller campus, and I guess it’s caused me to get me more interested in developing more projects like the Ireland trip or taking students whenever there’s a production of Shakespeare in town. It’s sort of shaped the way I think about teaching. It’s not something you do for an hour and go home three times a week, like it was when I was in grad school. I think that one of the other things that is really neat about MUW is that we have such a strong honors program. You really get to see how students grow and pursue stuff of interest to them. It often takes them beyond the classroom; I think it is incredible to watch.”