The fresh fall semester is a chance at something new for faculty and students, as is the case for professor Sarah McCune, 28, who is beginning her first full-time semester at Pierce College.
McCune has taught various math courses at Pierce College since Fall 2004, working as a part-time professor. With the new semester, she decided to step out of the classroom and into The Learning Center.
“I thought it would be an interesting job to take and it has been,” McCune said.
As a math specialist in The Learning Center, McCune teaches a Learning Skills 10 course, a course designed to assist students with basic mathematics. As well, she works with The Learning Center’s math tutors and assists as a supervisor.
Students should feel comfortable with McCune’s expertise in the field of math. Having graduated from Pierce College in spring 2000, she transferred to UCLA where she earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics, eventually earning her master’s degree.
Her love for math was an acquired taste, however.
“I didn’t like it until my very last math class here at Pierce College. I don’t know why I liked that class in specific, but… I liked being able to get exact answers,” she explained. “Math is exact – there were right answers, even if they were difficult to find.”
Dr. Lyn Clark, chair of the computer applications and office technologies department, has mentored McCune during her transition into a full-time position at Pierce College.
“It has been my pleasure to have Sarah as my mentee. She’s a very nice person and I’ve enjoyed meeting her,” Clark said.
The Academic Senate has a committee dedicated to assigning mentors to new full-time hires at Pierce College, to assist them in their success. The mentors assigned are professors from different departments than the mentees, to broaden the perspective of the campus.
“McCune is very vivacious and a very good addition to our staff,” said Clark.
McCune’s former students may remember her as Sarah Hipschman. She was married Dec. 31, 2005. When McCune is not at Pierce, there is a good chance she is part-time teaching her junior high class at Northridge Community School. She also enjoys camping and reading. She is currently rereading The Lord of the Rings trilogy. When teaching was declared as one of her hobbies, she had reassuring words for her students that affirmed her passion for passing on knowledge:
“I really like to see students ‘get it’,” said McCune.