Caroline Reynolds is an English professor at Sinclair Community College, who knew that one day she wanted teach at college level.
She first started at Sinclair in 1995 as a History major, where she found her real passion to be Literature.
“I started out as a history major because I loved History, but my electives were always English,” Reynolds said. “I always chose lit courses because I loved to read, it all started there.”
Reynolds was a student in one of English Professor Kay Berg’s British Literature classes, when she came upon the realization that she wanted to teach English.
“Literally, it was like an epiphany. I was sitting there and class hadn’t started yet, but I was thinking about how much I enjoyed the class and everything that we were doing,” she said. “I thought to myself ‘why am I not an English major?’”
Reynolds said she had been concerned about being a History major, because she knew that it was difficult to get into.
Knowing that she would go on to obtain a four-year degree and a graduate degree, Reynolds did not graduate from Sinclair.
“I didn’t want to spend the extra time and money,” she said. “So I transferred out to Wright State.”
From Wright State, she got her Master’s degree in Composition and Rhetoric.
“English majors are really needed because any job that you get is looking for somebody who can speak and write effectively,” she said. “That’s so important and so many students in other disciplines aren’t focusing on it as well as they could be.”
Reynolds said one of the best things to do for those who are not sure what they want to major in, is to take multiple classes.
“My advice is to just wait and take classes that you are interested in and hopefully it will come to you,” she said. “Don’t just take things that you are supposed to take or need to take; where are your interests and where do those lie? If you know that, it will help you make that decision.”
Reynolds said she always enjoyed Sinclair as a student and felt like she was able to receive a good education in the time she spent at the college.
“I was very well prepared,” she said. “The English classes that I took here made me very well prepared for Wright State.”
As a graduate student at Wright State, Reynolds was asked to be an adjunct. Soon after, she contacted Jack Bennett, who was the chair of the English department of Sinclair at the time and asked for a job.
Reynolds said the best part about being at Sinclair is having the ability to make a difference in someone’s life.
“I really feel like a servant of my community, I help one person become a better writer and he or she does something to help someone else,” she said. “It’s a ripple effect and I feel like it just grows and grows.”
Reynolds advice to students is to find something that makes them happy on a deeply personal level.
“Make the work that you do here count,” she said. “I want students to find their love and their passion, and also have fun along the way.”