Who he is…
Mohsen Khani is a Geography professor at Sinclair Community College who believes in traveling.
What makes him
interesting…
Khani was born in Shiraz, Iran where he lived for 16 years before coming to the United States. After coming to the U.S., he finished high school in Michigan and attended the University of Michigan. He has a bachelor’s degree in both Agriculture and Math, in addition to a master’s degree in Geography.
Khani said that he is always exploring and learning from the world around him and sees himself as being very energetic.
“I am always on the go and passionate about geography,” he said. “I think it is the greatest discipline in the world.”
In Khani’s opinion, Geography is one of the more underrated forms of science, but is extremely important.
“I think it makes us understand the world in which we live, in my opinion, better than any other science,” he said. “We live in a global world and a lack of geographic knowledge not only keeps you in the dark, but also I think, is dangerous.”
Khani said that more often than not, many think that geography is just about knowing places on the map. Because of this, Khani realizes its importance and is part of why he is so intrigued by it.
“It’s about seeing the big picture,” he said.
As a geographer, he loves to travel and said he has been to 35 different countries, in addition to six continents. The only continent he has not been is Antarctica, somewhere he plans on traveling one day.
“I’m a geographer, so [traveling] comes natural,” he said. “I think there is nothing like experiencing different places, different people and different environments directly.”
Khani did not become interested in Geography until after going through schooling for his degrees in Agriculture and Math.
“I really wasn’t excited about [my degrees in Agriculture and Math],” he said. “At the dining room table, going through course catalog and course descriptions, I looked at a human geography course and it sounded interesting.”
Khani said, when he took the class, it was like something clicked in his brain — he felt connected to what he was learning and did not intend on looking back.
“For me, it’s a good thing that I have the two other degrees,” he said. “But I wish that I knew this was what I wanted to do right out of high school because I would have been that much farther ahead.”
Khani said, everything that he does in his life is encompassed in geography.
“I tell all my students — geography is life; I teach it that way and I believe in it that way,” he said. “The term geography means to write about earth, so anything that really has to do with the earth we live on, either cultural or physical, relates to geography.”
Khani said traveling can make you appreciate how you live and he applies that outlook to teaching.
“I love traveling because everywhere has something,” he said.” You get a different taste of what life is.”
With teaching, Khani enjoys being able to enlighten his students and teach them how crucial it is to be knowledgeable about global perspective.
“It teaches them not only how to be better American citizens, but better global citizens,” he said. “To have them think critically about real issues, I think that’s what I strive for.”
Khani said he enjoys having students enter his classroom viewing something one way, and then being able to see it expand into a broader perspective of the world, because of what he has taught them.
“I like them to understand the world a whole lot better,” he said. “I think that’s why I love teaching and love geography.”
Over the summer, Khani spent three weeks in Russia. He has been to places like India, the Mexican border, Peru, China and Costa Rica, among many more.
“When I travel, I want to experience the country,” he said. “I don’t want to eat a five-star meal and stay in a five-star hotel and be removed from what is going on.”
As a goal, Khani tries to at least travel to three countries a year. He plans to do so until he is no longer physically able.
“For personal development for whom I’ve become, [traveling] has been absolutely crucial,” he said. “You just can’t help but to see some of the things you see and not be affected by it — it really shapes you.”
Khani said that every place you go has something unique, and believes everyone should understand geography and all the aspects that go along with it.
“I figure you only live once, and as a geographer I want to experience as many places in the world as I can,” he said. “I want to experience the world, not just see it on a map.”