Sociology professor inspires students to learn by doing

In the first class of the semester, a classroom of students anxiously awaits the arrival of their professor. Inquiring minds pass the time considering the variety of possibilities that are moments away. How will their new professor look and act? Will she be strict or laid back? Friendly or reserved? Hard or easy? Weird? Crazy? Boring? Amusing? The series of questions contemplated stretch the imagination's limits until the doorknob turns, the door swings open, and reality is finally confronted.

In strolls a tall, cheery, bright blue-eyed woman with unruly blond hair. Restless students abandon all previous thoughts, anticipating their first impression. With a captivating presence, Sharlene Hesse-Biber entered the classroom and her students' lives. The energy with which we were greeted was accompanied by one peculiar request: to join her in a tap dance. Students nervously eyed one another. Was she serious, they wondered? Indeed she was, and finally one brave student joined Hesse-Biber center stage.

All bets were off. This woman was truly something special. Students, faculty, colleagues, friends, could not agree more.

Sociology professor Hesse-Biber is a remarkable teacher whose ideals are rooted in her past and profoundly shaped by the circumstances of her early life. A New Yorker to the core, Hesse-Biber was forced to grow up quickly as a girl from "the other side of the tracks" of Staten Island. Her values were deeply affected by her position as the daughter of a single mother from the working class. She learned early on to, "work hard and be innovative," a message she has carried with her throughout her life and continues to pass on. With a single income to provide for a family of six, Hesse-Biber recalls having to creatively "work with what they had." These ideals were the product of her mother's influence, from which she received a great "sense of empowerment" and a responsibility to not only her family, her education, and herself, but also to those around her.

Hesse-Biber recalled feelings of isolation in regard to her identity as a lower class female, a reality that gave her the drive to overcome and embrace her upbringing. She vividly described a seventh grade science project that gave her the opportunity to take an intellectual risk "and do things she didn't think were possible."

Working alongside her peers and passionate teacher, they advanced to the science fair. "A very big deal," she said, where the boundaries of her social class were made most evident. Their presence was unwelcome, and their talent was underestimated. However, the students were rewarded for their merit and Hesse-Biber developed a sense of pride and the courage to pursue social action to better the disadvantaged youth of her community.

It was this experience that compelled Hesse-Biber to get off the typical track expected of her and follow her own extraordinary scholastic path.

Disillusioned by the stigma of belonging to a poorer neighborhood and the narrow-minded future attached to that, Hesse-Biber used the confidence from her early education and the desire to escape the stagnant position her mother was trapped in as motivation to pursue her academic endeavors.

Despite her guidance counselor's insistence that she conform to the meager expectations of her economic situation, Hesse-Biber knew she would be selling herself short.

Nevertheless, the responsibility Hesse-Biber had to support her family led her to place the needs of her loved ones above herself. She began attending night classes at Richmond College on Staten Island and working during the day with no practical use for her education, as of yet.

Hesse-Biber's life took an unexpected turn when she was finally confronted with the notion that her academic capabilities surpassed her financial limitations. She was deeply affected by the guidance of her sociology professor, Professor Melman, who encouraged her to take a risk.

Hesse-Biber never considered the possibility of abandoning the constraints of her former lifestyle for her own improvement, but with the faith of her professor and the memory of her mother's professional confinement, Hesse-Biber was able to take her life into her own hands.

With closed eyes Hesse-Biber remembers the gravity of her decision. "It seemed I had this mountain I was climbing ... but I had the drive and the desire to succeed."

The struggle Hesse-Biber encountered in pursuit of her goals attributed a level of worth to the work she had achieved and created a sense of pride in her accomplishments.

At the University of Michigan, within a prestigious sociology department, Hesse-Biber reached the top of her mountain upon receiving her BA, MA, and Ph.D. Hesse-Biber worked against all odds.

"Education wasn't something given to me. It was something I earned," she said. Through scholarships, persistence, and dedication, she was able to develop "a new appreciation for learning" with which she would influence others.

When Hesse-Biber arrived at BC in the late '70s, the University had recently acquired the all-female College of the Sacred Heart in Newton and was just beginning to learn how to deal with its female students.

Hesse-Biber recognized the need for change, and co-founded the women's studies program. Soon after, she conducted research on the student body and discovered gender-related trends regarding the aspirations and classroom expectations of men and women.

She published Career and Lifestyles Aspirations of Boston College Undergraduates highlighting the University's partiality for men, thus changing the mindset of administrators and students alike.

Hesse-Biber personally encountered the University's male-biased policies when she decided to have a family. As a pregnant woman on the "clockwork of male careers," she said she felt isolated from her colleagues, both male and female.

Without the flexibility of maternity leave or course reductions, Hesse-Biber was forced to balance the pressures of being a tenure tracked professor with being a mother.

She said about these years of her life that the personal gratification that accompanied motherhood was coupled with the stigma of being an uncommitted worker. She was now faced with the challenge of combining work and family, a realization that led to her desire to study women and their plight in defining success on their own terms.

As a professor, Hesse-Biber is respected and admired by both her students and her colleagues. Her intense dedication is demonstrated by the enthusiasm she brings into the classroom. Her magnetic personality gives students the initiative to learn and share in her devotion.

Kristen Heim, a former graduate teaching assistant for Hesse-Biber's class, Women and Work and GA&S '11, said, "Her passion for what she studies evokes passion in those around her. It was great to experience and witness." Hesse-Biber's theories on active participation, or as she would say, "You learn by doing," encouraged students to voice their opinions and become involved in the learning process.

The ability to command the attention of an entire room of college students is a difficult task, but one Hesse-Biber accomplishes with great precision, gaiety, and ease.

Elizabeth Pippert, a student of Hesse-Biber's and A&S '07, said, "My most memorable moment was when she came to class and said she was Kermit the Frog."

Dressed from head to toe in a fiercely green suit demanding she be referred to as Kermit, Hesse-Biber's extroverted personality immediately intrigues students to wake up and pay attention. She believes that humor is an essential aspect of learning and life. In a fit of laughter Hesse-Biber said how important it is to "never take ourselves too seriously."

Fulfilling her calling as a teacher, Hesse-Biber has been rewarded in many ways. The ability to impact her students is of primary importance. She hopes to "see the fruits of what you work hard for" in the development of her students and their ability to understand "the dignity in learning to work."

A former student, Emily Medina, A&S '07, said the most important thing she learned from Hesse-Biber was to "educate yourself as much as possible because that is the first step to success."

When asked where she sees herself in 10 years, Hesse-Biber laughed and was at a loss of words. After moments of contemplating, she came up with myriad responses. Hesse-Biber envisions herself, "still writing books, being intellectually challenged, teaching for a higher salary," she said, "and actively making a difference."

Hesse-Biber has not forgotten where she came from and continues to feel a responsibility for those who remain. She wishes to "not just lift myself up, but to lift up others behind me ... I will stop when I don't make a difference."

Hesse-Biber hopes for her legacy to be determined by the people who know her best. Her previous students will remember the unique spirit that Hesse-Biber fearlessly shares with those who are fortunate enough to cross her path.

Her quirky personality, feminist zeal, and compassionate nature captivate all of her students. Hesse-Biber taught us that it is okay to be different, to push boundaries, to dare to be ourselves, and to change the world, rather than have it change us.