If you're in one of my classes, this is the place to start!
First, a little about me…
My name is Nicola Justice (students call me "NJ" or "Dr. Justice"). I dream to one day live in an actual tree house like Swiss Family Robinson (but without the racial stereotypes). When not teaching stats, I love to read children's chapter books. Some of my favorites include The Phantom Tollbooth, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and The Princess and the Goblin. I haven't finished reading about Hiccup in the How to Train Your Dragon series, so please *don't* tell me any spoilers!!!
I am passionate about ALL my students learning and being empowered to use their gifts, talents and interests to change the world. Most of my extended family lives in South Africa, and ever since an early age I've been interested in combatting the horrors of apartheid and its aftermath. (Fun fact: my grandmother was threatened by the South African government to be deported because of her efforts to fight apartheid. I am still learning about how I can be an active anti-racist the way that she was.) This blog post about bicycling in Detroit really resonates with me, and it might be a great read if you are a white person wanting to learn more about white privilege.
On to info about our course:
The most important thing you should know about me is that I LOVE to help students. Normally, I tell students they can stop by my office any time—even just to chat if you don't have questions about the course. If it is hard for you to be on campus when I am, you can email me any time and/or let's set up a video chat and drink tea and talk about math/stats/dreams/struggles/joys/whatever.
The 2nd most important thing to know is how to get help. PLU wants you to succeed (and so do I!) so now is a great time to navigate to the “getting help” page where you can learn more about how to succeed in this course. The "Getting Help" Page is page 2 of our "liquid syllabus" (click below).
Thanks to the following individuals whose ideas I have adapted into this course and syllabus: Tom Read, Donnie Hallstone, Brian Gill, Robbin O’Leary, Caleb Henry, Salah Abed, Liz Fry, Michelle Everson, Laura Le, Laura Ziegler, Andrew Zieffler, Anelise Sabbag, Beth Chance, Kelly Spoon, and Joan Garfield.