By NATALIE SACKET
Staff Reporter
Language is far more than a tool used to communicate; it is a way to convey emotion, intelligence, and a glimpse of the human soul. One professor who shares this love of language with NWOSU is Tiffany Scarola.
Scarola did not love English from an early age, in fact, quite the opposite.
“I had terrible reading comprehension as a child, so [literature] was actually something I despised. I can’t even describe how much I hated it, just because I struggled with it so much,” said Scarola.
Scarola struggled with English until her freshman year of collegem when she had a professor who taught her to look at literature with a different perspective. This professor was instrumental in Scarola’s decision to become an English teacher. While Scarola had many difficulties with literature, she does not consider that a detriment and instead embraces it.
“I see some of the stuff that I struggled with in some of my students, and I feel like that experience gives me a unique perspective. I feel like that past gives me a little more of an edge because I’ve been where those students have been. It’s helped me learn how to develop lessons in different ways.”
Scarola got her bachelor’s at Northern Illinois in 2007 and her master’s from DePaul University in 2013.
“After I graduated from Northern with my bachelor’s, I went back and started pursuing a master’s degree with an emphasis in English. I got this random email saying, if you’re interested in teaching, you should check out these opportunities in China. I was like, ‘China?’ I sent in my resume just to see what would happen. I was offered a job in August of 2009.”
Scarola taught at the Nanjing Foreign Language School for eleven months before returning to America. While the culture shock of teaching overseas proved to be difficult, Scarola emphasized that it solidified her choice to become an educator.
“If I could do it there, I could do it here. Here is a lot easier, especially because there isn’t that language barrier. It’s given me a very unique perspective, especially at NWOSU because there is such a large international population.”
After returning to America, Scarola became an adjunct professor at the College of DePage and Waubonsee Community College in Illinois.
Scarola was longing for a full-time position at a university when she came across NWOSU.
“Obviously I was okay with picking up and moving to Oklahoma because I’d dropped everything to go to China. If I can do that, I can move to a different part of the country. It’s definitely a different type of culture shock.”
Scarola serves as the composition coordinator of NWOSU and teaches composition and writing literacy. Next semester she will begin teaching technical writing as well.
Scarola loves the opportunities available with the English language.
“Even though there are some rules, all those rules can be broken. It allows you to find your own style, especially with writing. You have your own persona and your own voice. There are certain rules of grammar, but grammar is not all of writing. It’s more of a chance to persuade someone to see something in your perspective. This can create a lot of confidence for a student when they accomplish that. Being able to find that voice is incredible, because I feel like a lot of students get lost. I love finding those students who have trouble with the same things that I had trouble with. I love having the chance to let them see that it’s not the end of it.”