Meet…
Rachel Porter, an adjunct faculty English instructor, who considers Sinclair as her home and believes life, is simply here to enjoy.
Why she’s interesting…
Porter began her journey at Sinclair in 1981, as a Legal Assisting major, focusing intensively on writing and English, which led her to realize that paralegal work wasn’t something she wanted to continue to pursue.
“I was always good at reading and writing, which was how I ended up in Legal Assisting,” Porter said. “I was working as a paralegal and I wasn’t a very good paralegal—it was very boring and the lawyers I worked for told me I was really good at the legal research and writing and I should do something with that.”
Upon graduation in 1989, along with realizing that her heart wasn’t in paralegal assisting, she decided to continue her education at Wright State University for both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree, majoring in professional writing and editing.
“As I was finishing my Bachelor’s degree, I was told they had a program, where if you taught Freshman Composition they would pay your way through grad school, and I thought what a deal,” Porter said.
After taking a new path on life and using her skills for a new job, Porter decided freelance writing was the best way to use her degree and although she was “making lots of money, the hours were brutal.”
Once deciding she and her husband wanted to have kids, she said it was time to take on a part-time job so she could dedicate herself to her family.
“I came here and applied as an instructor in 1994,” Porter said. “I have been here forever—I’ve spent my adult life at Sinclair.”
Sinclair is like home to Porter, and she finds inspiration from her students because she they fuel her love for reading and writing.
“I really like students here and I always have,” Porter said. “A lot of Sinclair students have a hard time getting through school and I can relate to that. I goofed off a lot while I was here, so I was a bad student until I grew up a bit.”
Porter was a high school dropout before coming to Sinclair, so she always uses that experience to tell students “that as you can start off in hole and then pull yourself out of the hole.”
Porter teaches one to two English classes per term, and recently just got certified to teach Student Success, which is a class for students, who are just starting out at Sinclair.
“It’s a good introduction to how to survive here,” Porter said. “It’s learning how to be a successful student.”
As an adjunct faculty member, Porter gets three credit hours of free Montgomery tuition every semester—so she is a student, as well as faculty. Although she can take any classes she would like, she has been interested in Geography and has almost ran out of that subject of classes.
“There’s some Humanity classes I’d like to take,” Porter said. “When you’re going for a degree, you have to stay on one focus—it’s nice to take classes just because. There aren’t enough people here who take advantage of it.”
Aside from teaching and being a student, she has also been an administrator on an international discussion board for nearly 17 years and also has a passion for playing the guitar.
“A couple years ago, I saw someone walking around here with a guitar and I thought I should play guitar, so I took guitar class,” Porter said. “Now, I am still taking lessons every term and I play in the Sinclair classical guitar ensemble.”
Porter doesn’t have any set goals for the future, but hopes to continue enjoying life while making a difference in students lives. She said one of the best things is seeing some students have so many strikes against them in life and that maybe one thing she said in class might give them the push they need to succeed.
She realizes there is always something new to learn, no matter how young or old people are. Porter said it’s nice to hear when students tell her about a time in her class that made them think differently about a situation.
Patience is something that is important for Porter while teaching her classes, as well as hoping to help guide students to where they need to be. However, it starts with students doing two little things, according to porter.
“Do all your work and turn it in on time—it’s simple enough, yet so many people don’t do it,” Porter said. “You’ll be amazed just by doing those two little things.”
Gabrielle Sharp
Executive Editor