Jennifer Bays is an Education professor at the University of Wyoming who is currently teaching a course named Diversity and Politics in Schools. Bays’ first year teaching at UW has been out of the ordinary because of COVID-19.
“It’s definitely been interesting being on screen for hours upon hours a day,” said Bays.
Bays said it has been difficult to build relationships with students through Zoom, but on the positive side anyone can be a part of the class no matter where they are. Bays has been teaching remotely from Casper and said the better commute time with Zoom has been nice.
“It’s something that was terrifying in some ways and exciting in other ways,” said Bays.
She started teaching this year as a part of her doctorate program for counselor education and supervision.
“I feel like I could have been farther had I started sooner, but I wouldn’t give up family,” Bays said.
She returned to schooling to further her education as a clinician and to be able to provide more advocacy in the field of counseling.
Prior to that, Bays said she had considered getting her master’s in counseling for over ten years.
In addition she said that she had always thought about teaching. With the graduate teaching assistant position she is teaching Diversity and Politics in Schools. She said this class has been great and it includes her passion about diverse cultures.
“It’s been challenging and time consuming,” said Bays. “Grading is ‘meh’ but it’s not as bad. You can see all the different perspectives students have.”
In the classroom setting, Bays wants to provide a student led class with open discussions so that students can share their own perspectives and also be more invested in the subject rather than if it were just being taught.
“I want students to take away a deeper understanding of themselves and who they are so they can incorporate that view into their lives,” she said.
Bays class is currently not meeting in person.
“When we do meet in person, I’m excited for a challenge since I’ve only taught via Zoom so far,” said Bays.
Before Bays began her doctorate program she had been a mental health counselor for just over a year.
“I had worked in several settings where I was helping in a way but really wanted to be able to take it further and do more, especially with children. My initial goal was to become a school counselor and even did my internship in a high school but then ended up doing mental health instead,” Bays said.
“I feel like I waited to really start a career, family first and then starting a career,” Bays said.
“Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable and take that chance,” said Bays advising non-traditional students.
