Liz Jacoby ‘09, Tenured English Faculty
English Department, Mid-Plains Community College
When Liz Jacoby first started teaching five years ago at Mid-Plains Community College in North Platte, Neb., she did not anticipate the “immense gratification that came from teaching young people.”
“My students keep me young,” she says. “At the time, I did not know I would come to love my job as much as I do today.”
As a tenured English faculty member, Liz teaches 15-18 hours of courses per semester including Composition I and II, The American Novel, The Academic Novel, Mythology, and Developmental Reading. She also serves on a variety of academic, institutional and personnel committees.
“While there are challenging moments, even days, it has all been worth it,” she said.
Liz graduated from the MA program in English with a concentration in creative writing from EIU in 2009. Her thesis was a collection of poems titled “Broken.” She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
“My MA from EIU was a qualification that I needed to obtain this job. They wouldn’t have hired me otherwise,” she said.
She doesn’t like giving advice to other academics because everyone has a different path. However, she said the small class sizes at EIU are a definite advantage for students in the MA program.
“Students should take every advantage to network with their professors and fellow classmates,” she said. “This will open doors later on in your academic career.”