(Photo by: Miranda Sue Philpot)

For some people, math can be their most dreaded subject. Many don’t enjoy the complex concepts and brain power it can take to solve a simple equation. But, for statistics professor Aaron Gibbs, math is the subject that kick-started his career as a JCCC professor.

“I started out as a tutor at JCCC around 2001, and I realized I really enjoyed helping students make sense of math concepts that felt confusing at first,” Gibbs said. “That experience made me realize teaching might be a good fit.”

Gibbs felt teaching math at the school that started it all felt natural, and after many years of teaching the same courses, he is proud to be a part of the founding team of a new math course. He believes this course will really help students succeed in their studies.

“I’ve been part of the team developing our new Math 161 course, a statistics class that’s part of the ‘math pathways’ model,” Gibbs said. “It’s designed to give students a more relevant and accessible math option for their required math course. A student’s pathway should match their interests and academic goals. All three of our pathway courses transfer to Kansas universities, so we’re trying to spread the word about the two newer options: Elementary Statistics (161) and Contemporary Math (151).”

Gibbs is also pleased with the feedback he gets from his students.

“I always appreciate it when a student tells me later that something from the class helped them succeed in another course or project,” Gibbs said. “That kind of feedback means a lot.”

Along with the feedback he received throughout the school year, Gibbs loves to see students learn and soak in the information together.

“My favorite moments are usually the small ones: interesting class discussions, students helping each other out or days when everything just clicks,” Gibbs said.

Though there are many benefits and positive interactions in his job, Gibbs believes being a professor can be challenging at times.

“Time management for sure [is a difficult thing], at least for me,” Gibbs said. “The teaching itself is great, but there’s a lot of planning, grading, preparing and prioritizing that goes on behind the scenes.”

Although it can be tough to manage, Gibbs greatly appreciates his job and feels the work he does pays off.

“I like watching students get more confident as the semester goes on,” Gibbs said. “Those moments when something finally makes sense for someone are always rewarding.”