Exceptional Faculty Award spotlight: The accidental professor

We’ve all heard the cliché that kids say the darndest things. But people rarely point out its corollary: So do adults. As an Early Childhood Education professor, Sarah Theberge says she is often just as surprised by what her students express in the classroom as she is by what children in the college’s Child & Family Studies program say on the playground.

“I’m just surprised over and over again by how many things I hadn’t thought of,” Theberge says as she stands on that playground surrounded by running children. “The way that students approach the things we talk about reminds me that there’s no one right answer to so much of what we’re studying. I really do see us as ‘co-learners’ who are all learning together—and I’m learning right along with them. It’s one of my favorite parts of teaching.”

It’s also one of the things students mentioned repeatedly in nominating Theberge for Clark College’s prestigious Exceptional Faculty Award, which Theberge received for the 2013-14 year. The award was announced at Clark’s 2014 Commencement ceremony and officially bestowed at the college’s Opening Day festivities on September 10.

“She is honest, she is real, she is not only a teacher but an inspiration and a friend to all her students,” wrote one nominator. “She brings passion to her work with children and with her students, and ignites the passion in all of us.”

Students also mention Theberge’s empathy and her strong commitment to serving as an academic advisor to students in the ECE program. When Theberge explains how she became a professor, it becomes clear why she is able to connect so strongly with her students and empathize with the challenges they face: After all, she faced them too.

Theberge never set out to become a professor. “It was the farthest thing from my mind,” she says, laughing. Rather, her initial ambition was much more basic: She needed a job.

“I was a single parent without any college background or schooling, and a friend of mine had a childcare center,” Theberge says. “I just thought it was a place where I could have my kids there and still work. But from the very first day, I fell in love with it.”

A friend encouraged her to enroll in Clark’s ECE program. “I said, ‘Oh no. We don’t do college in my family,'” Theberge recalls. “She literally took me by the hand and dragged me to Clark. And I’ve never left.”

In 1992, Theberge graduated with honors from Clark with an Associate of Applied Science degree in ECE. She went on to complete both a bachelor’s and master’s program from Pacific Oaks College while working in Clark’s CFS program, first as a program aide and then as an adjunct faculty member. Her roles and responsibilities continued to expand over the years, and in 2000 she was granted tenure at Clark. Throughout the years, she has continued to attend conferences and workshops to keep up-to-date on current teaching practices in her field. She also presents her own research at conferences; currently she has been delving into the complex issues surrounding children’s concepts of gender identity. Additionally, she serves on the board of directors for YWCA Clark County and has been instrumental in creating a library at CFS to help promote children’s literacy.

It’s a long way from the young single mother who just wanted a job. “That’s why I love advising,” Theberge says. “I hear similar stories to mine from students—people looking for opportunity, looking for help in making their passion a reality. It’s just so rewarding to sit with that and to walk alongside them on their journey.”

Learn more about the other 2013-14 Exceptional Faculty Award recipients.

Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley