Hello fellow TE 818er’s!

I am Suzanne Kiess, long time teacher girl and accountant. Now don’t let that bit about me being an accountant let you pigeon hole me. You could say that I am not your typical accountant. While the bachelor degree of my youth did lead me to my first career in public accounting, there have been many twists and turns along the way. You could say that I am not your typical accountant!

After a few years of working on audits with a CPA firm, I had to admit that I was a round peg trying to fit into any number of attractive square holes. It just wasn’t for me. I pursued many professional experiences in my 20’s ranging from professional musician to running a landscape company with my husband as well as staying home with my babies and a little adjunct teaching in accounting. It was the teaching that stole my heart.

I have a bachelor degree in accounting and a MBA that led to my teaching jobs. I have been teaching at a community college now for about 12 years in a tenured position with about 7 years before that as an adjunct instructor. I am an artsy-fartsy type and always seem to have a few artistic endeavors going. Right now, I am taking ballroom dance lessons and also weekly NIA dance and Zumba workout classes. I am practicing and learning piano music to accompany a group of high school band students at Solo and Ensemble competitions in February and April, which I have been doing every winter for several years now. Rehearsals will start soon. I also like to create things and have a few cross stitch and beaded Xmas ornaments in progress. And, I have come to honor myself as a writer with a few writing projects going, most importantly now my TE 818 blog experience.

I love working with college students, getting to know students and being a part of their lives during this critical transition time in their lives. While the logical-analytical nature of accounting work comes naturally to me, I am also quite drawn to the big picture questions of teaching and learning. Why do some of my students quit so easily even with so many resources and kind hearted people surrounding them? And why do some of my other students persist and excel even in the face of incredible adversity, financial devastation, criminal conviction, zero family support, zero history of academic success, etc.? Students fascinate me. As the years have ticked by, issues of curriculum have also come up. Does the lock-step undergraduate accounting curriculum truly align with what students and employers need in those first entry level jobs in the field? Why do we teach what we teach? I have read and read and read about teaching styles and learning styles and the like. I am ready for something a bit different in focus, a bit deeper in context. TE 818 looks like a good fit for this teacher girl.