Research and theory are an important part of advancing education—but they’re useless unless someone puts them into action. Catherine Creech is an instructor who does just that, working hard every day to improve her students’ experiences and education as a whole.

Catherine is a professor at Mt. Hood Community College, an institution based in Gresham Oregon. She teaches biology classes and labs, and is currently on year 3 of 4 in a tenure track. When not in the classroom, Catherine can be found attending the local Mushroom society meetings. As a mycologist, Catherine searched for the perfect mushroom hunting location when relocating after her education. She and her wife chose Oregon because it captured both their interests. “We needed somewhere with lots of mushrooms and lots of beer—cause [my wife] works in beer.”

Though she now holds a Masters in Mycology and is a model Biology professor, Catherine didn’t always have a passion for science—or school in general. Catherine wasn’t exactly thrilled with the prospect of college when she graduated high school. She only enrolled at community college because her parents thought it was important. She started out as a Psychology major because people fascinated her and the classes were fun. Biology was the furthest thing from her mind until she found that her course required a biology credit. She grit her teeth in preparation to slog through a course that didn’t interest her, but early on in the class she saw something that changed her perspective completely - a time lapse of plants growing.

“It blew my mind,” Catherine said. “[The plants] were dancing, and climbing, and there were vines moving like tendrils. I felt like I didn’t understand how much I was missing about the world until I saw that.” The experience was such a revelation to her that Catherine immediately changed her major to Botany and transferred to San Francisco State to study the subject further. Mushrooms were consistently her favorite subject, so she chose to pursue a Masters in Mycology. Part of the program required her to TA in an undergraduate lab. This was her first real introduction to education research, as the lab had used active learning pedagogies and had a partial focus on teaching and learning strategies and the data behind them. Catherine enjoyed the experience so much that she decided then and there that she wanted to become a biology professor.

She was—and still is—motivated in part by her desire to inspire a love of biology in her student, but Catherine also aims to expand students' conceptions of what succeeding in science means. She’s a knowledgeable college professor, but she’s also someone who knows what it’s like to have had to work three jobs on top of classes, or to have dyslexia and need extra time to learn how to read textbooks. Catherine wants her students to know that she was never the perfect Valedictorian and she struggled quite a bit - but she still succeeded.

Her choice to teach at a community college was informed by her previous experience at one. “I’m a huge community college advocate - I went to community college, my mom went to community college, I actually went to the same one she went to.” For Catherine, the community college model allows her to put her students at the center of her curriculum. At Mt. Hood, class sizes tend to stay below 30 students. This allows her to cultivate a meaningful relationship with everyone attending class. Lab settings are even more intimate, averaging around just 16 seats per section. Mt. Hood doesn’t use TAs or lab assistants, which means Catherine gets to work closely with all of her students. On top of that, there’s no expectation for her to be conducting research between classes—her 40 hours a week are completely devoted to her students.

Catherine believes that community colleges offer more than just attentive, student-centered learning though. “Community college is a perfect ‘bridge’,” She said. Situational, financial, or any other number of factors may not align for students who want to pursue a B.A. or B.S. after high school, and community college can help to ease them into higher education. Compared to four year institutions, community colleges tend to cost much less and allow a greater level of flexibility in student’s schedules. Community colleges also tend to put a higher emphasis on teaching their students learning skills and strategies. Once they graduate, they can transfer to a four year institution and start as a junior.

However, not everyone who attends community college wants to transfer. Some may take classes as a means of “trying out” higher education to see if it’s for them. Others might be pursuing a 2 year degree - a choice that allows them to avoid major debt and have more freedom in choosing electives. Some community college students attend class sheerly for pleasure, like a friend of Catherine’s from the mushroom society who takes biology classes for fun - at the age of 70!

Catherine is a die hard believer in the importance and worth of community colleges - she’s seen first hand how helpful they can be. With another school year starting she’s excited to continue the job she’s passionate about and help students. This year she’ll be teaching a mycology course that hasn’t been available 15 years - and she’s clearly the perfect candidate to bring it back. Professors that care deeply about their students and the topics at hand are the lifeblood of effective learning, and Catherine is one such professor that will continue to make a difference in the lives of those seeking education.