nieding
Personal
I am originally from the mid-west - born in Ohio, educated in Kansas, and taught in Indiana and Missouri before coming to the Pacific Northwest. I have been at Gonzaga University since 1992 and I have had the opportunity to be engaged in a variety of positions.
Teaching is my passion and people are the pathway.
At an early age I learned to love books, reading them and then sharing stories with others. Ultimately I was motivated to persue a vocation in education by the realization that my brother had suffered traumatically from bad teachers and a system that focused more upon structure than the student. I decided to make my life's work about making education a whole life experience that stimulated positive growth.
Reaching outside the traditional classroom became a natural progression in the evoluiton of my teaching, which began in 1975. I found myself teaching in unique areas where there was great need for more than just academics. I taught in low socio-economic inner city schools, a juvenile justice center, and the Navajo reservation. In 1996 I became invlolved the homeless school at the local YWCA. I continue to work with this population and engage teacher candidates from my courses in outreach to these children.