story by Cathi Douglas '80   |   images by Jeanne Rice

“Of all my life's accomplishments, I am most proud to call myself a teacher,” says President Milton A. Gordon. “From the moment I stepped across the threshold of my first elementary school classroom until the present day, as I preside over California's fastest-growing university, I have cherished the knowledge that I am able to influence the lives and minds of many young individuals. For a teacher's work is never really complete but forever persists, together with his or her ideals and principles, in his/her students.”

Titan Magazine asked a number of teachers why they chose their profession. The discussion was prompted by a conversation with longtime English Professor Joanne Gass, who said she believes the university's most enduring legacies are its graduates who go on to teach in public and private schools, community colleges and universities.

Fullerton credential recipients teach in every school district in Orange County, and a vast majority of districts throughout Southern California. In fact, the new College of Education, with an enrollment of more than 2,500 students, has produced more than 25,000 teachers and is the fourth-largest teacher preparation institution in the 23-campus California State University system.

Teachers decide to teach for myriad reasons. But those reasons revolve around students and the ability to touch the future. For Robyn Parmelee Winn '68 (B.A. English), teaching has been a 36-year profession, beginning when her husband proposed marriage by handing her a stack of teaching applications.

“My first year of teaching was in the little fishing village of Highlands, New Jersey,” Winn writes from Blue Springs, Missouri. “The lesson that has stuck with me all these years is how much you learn to love your students. I do not tire of rediscovering the world through their eyes. The rewards of helping a child are priceless.”

To the majority of teachers at Cal State Fullerton and beyond, teaching is more than a job. “It is a sacred trust… to mentor students so that they can realize the full potential of their academic, professional, and personal goals,” writes Patricia Ann Humphreys '90 (B.A. psychology), who teaches at Chapman University.

Why We Teach: Ashley Bishop »