Mike.Splane@.sjsu.edu
When I was a student I was always curious
about my instructors, so I’ve prepared this short biography for my own students
to read.
If you knew me when I was young you would never
guess that I would eventually become an instructor at a university. I was a bad
student as a teenager; I dropped out of high school and flunked out of college.
I had no study skills and no focus or discipline. I spent my time partying and
hanging out with my friends rather than going to class. By the time I was
twenty, I had given up on school. I thought I couldn’t learn.
After flunking out of college, I worked at
a lot of different jobs, even tried to earn a living playing poker. I didn’t
like any of my jobs until I finally found something I was good at – hotel
accounting. I started out as a desk clerk doing night auditor jobs. Eventually
I earned a promotion into a fulltime job in the accounting department. I worked
for a good boss who moved me around so I learned all of the accounting jobs.
Besides technical skills I also learned that having good people skills is
critical to career success. When my boss left the company I became the acting
controller for a few months and did well enough to secure a permanent
promotion. After that I worked as a controller for many years. Without an
education, my career prospects were limited and I wanted more out of life, so I
decided to go back to school.
Being an older student helped me. I was
disciplined and worked hard to get good grades. After changing my major several
times I finally earned my Bachelors degree. It took eight years. I really
enjoyed my school years and made some good friends along the way.
A few months after I graduated I was watching
some games at a chess tournament. One of my former instructors was there too;
his son was playing in the tournament. We struck up a conversation. After
talking to me for ten or fifteen minutes, he asked me to come back to the
college and teach this course. I had just been in a job interview and didn’t
even know it! I got very excited and immediately said yes, without even asking
how much the job paid.
I did ask one question, would I be allowed
to I could revise the course? When I took the class we learned a lot of jargon
but not many practical skills, I thought it could be a better class. I was
quite happy when he said ok. Even in my first semester I was creating my own
material, focusing on stuff I knew would be useful both for students and for working
professionals. After a few years I had enough for a textbook. I found a
publisher, Kendall Hunt, and my first book, “Business Productivity Tools”
rolled off the presses in 2007.
Have I always wanted to teach? No. I
developed a love of teaching as an older student. I did a lot of tutoring of my
classmates and it was always fun. I used to walk past the business tower and
imagine having an office and being an instructor. I was excited and thrilled
when I finally got my chance. I can truly say that my love of teaching and
excitement about my job has never worn off.
I hope you enjoy this class. I’m looking
forward to working with you and getting to know you.
Mike