Profile: Steve Levering, Communication graphics instructor, IT guy, general geek/’whiz kid’
Steve Levering sits in his small, currently dark office (the lights are not turned on) joking about the disheveled state of his Star Wars memorabilia and general clutter-filled work space. Levering sports a pink Polo shirt paired with green camouflage shorts and gray Converse Chuck Taylors.
“Yeah, this pair is only about one or two years old, but I have another pair that are plaid that I bought back in 1992 that have been through great times.”
An example?
“They’ve been to many great concerts and many great shows. They went to Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson at the Bomb Factory in Dallas in ’94. And okay, I’m not a small guy and the crowd was carrying me around! It was intense.”
The self-professed geek had a hard time growing up as a bigger guy in small town Alabama. Where Levering was expected to participate in sports of all kind, especially football, he was much more interested in choir and being a band kid. He played both trombone and tuba and has since learned and developed a love of the bass guitar.
“I’m a geek,” Levering says, “And not just a computer geek, but a music geek, a cooking geek and whatever…They are just certain things that catch my interest and I just kind of follow them.”
He says he likes different kinds of music, across the board, but his favorite bands normally fall under the category of alternative or classic rock. He currently finds himself listening to a now defunct Austin band called Seven percent solution.
“They were great, very sort of Pink Floyd-ish kind of that psych-rock sounding thing the buried vocals and stuff; they had a really sweet light show, too.”
Levering says his wife, Pam, shares his same music interests. Both are in the teaching profession, although Pam’s students are in the first grade.
“Yeah, I don’t envy her,” Levering says with a smile, “College kids can be a handful, but at least they don’t wet their pants.”
Levering says he had what he calls a ‘mini freak out moment’ when attending frog camp a few years ago.
“Pam and I were married in 1990 and I suddenly realized that the incoming freshmen were born the same year I got married!”
He has no qualms about age, however. He’s a pretty happy-go-lucky kind of guy, he says. And he doesn’t see himself leaving TCU anytime soon. He’s having too much fun and he truly enjoys his colleagues, especially Dr. Punch Shaw, whom he teaches a mass communication class with.
“Whenever Dr. Shaw and I get together for breakfast or whatever, our wives just sit there and laugh at us because we both follow these really random conversational threads and everything. Where other people might not see anything tying them together, we both see the logic in going from here to here, so it’s just funny.”
Funny describes not only Levering’s conversational tone and attitude, but his office, his outfit and his outlook.
“I’m just an all-around geek, you know? What else is there?”
Showing posts with label TCU. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TCU. Show all posts
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Profile: Professor outside journalism
Profile: Scott Langston, Ph. D., Religion/Archaeology professor
Hometown: Conroe, TX.
Most people wouldn't light up like five-year-old walking into a toy store at the mention of biblical archaeology or the highly debated historical accuracy of the Bible, but most people aren't Scott Langston.
Langston, with his thick glasses, tucked-in, striped Polo shirt (collar bent awkwardly), pressed jeans and scuffed leather Sperry's looks more like a friendly high school friend's dad than a man who has journeyed to ancient biblical sites wielding a flashlight and map, Indiana Jones-style.
"I've always had a keen fascination in archaeology," Langston said, "It's always been something I wanted to pursue and make a part of my career, versus simply being a hobby."
Langston started out as an associate professor of biblical studies at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri. He spent three years as assistant dean of the college of theology before resigning in 2004 due to an unhappy work environment and relocated with his wife and three children back to his home state of Texas.
Currently, Langston works in what he calls the often underappreciated and misunderstood position of an adjunct professor.
“I feel a lot of the time there’s a certain stigma with being labeled an adjunct, but the bottom line is I’m happy, I like the freedom I have as an adjunct and I’m still getting paid to do what I love – teach.”
And Langston loves what he teaches, as well. For spring 2010, Langston is teaching a biblical archaeology class focusing on the historical accuracy of the Bible, ancient biblical sites and the various archaeological finds discovered therein. He himself has been to three different sites in present-day Israel; Megiddo, Hazor and Gezer.
Langston recalls an entertaining time when he brought he brand new wife on a dig to Megiddo.
“Here I am, a professor and semi-expert on this stuff and I’m finding tiny shards of pottery, mud bricks and the like, and I’ve been doing these digs for 20 some-odd years. What does my wife find the second day of her first dig? Coins and precious jewelry! It was just too funny; my family still laughs about that to this day.”
Langston says he is allotted a special place to keep some of the treasured artifacts he occasionally has gotten to keep on digs: the shed.
“Well, I have one or two waist-high collar-rimmed store jars and boxes of pottery shards from everywhere. I’ve got some religious deity figurines in there too, some coins and more boxes with mysterious contents. My wife just doesn’t understand, or maybe she does, you know and just doesn’t want all stuff littering the house,” Langston laughs.
He is very close to his family and proud of it. His daughter was just accepted to the University of Oklahoma and Langston doesn’t know what he’s going to do. He playfully shields his eyes with hands and mimes crying.
“Anywhere but OU, I told her, and what does she do? Pick OU!”
He laughs, professing an “unbiased” lifelong hatred for the Sooners.
“You know, I’ve gone my whole life despising that school, making fun of dang Sooners every chance I get and now, where am I going to be making checks out to? Ugh, if she wasn’t my only daughter," he says with a smile.
Hometown: Conroe, TX.
Most people wouldn't light up like five-year-old walking into a toy store at the mention of biblical archaeology or the highly debated historical accuracy of the Bible, but most people aren't Scott Langston.
Langston, with his thick glasses, tucked-in, striped Polo shirt (collar bent awkwardly), pressed jeans and scuffed leather Sperry's looks more like a friendly high school friend's dad than a man who has journeyed to ancient biblical sites wielding a flashlight and map, Indiana Jones-style.
"I've always had a keen fascination in archaeology," Langston said, "It's always been something I wanted to pursue and make a part of my career, versus simply being a hobby."
Langston started out as an associate professor of biblical studies at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri. He spent three years as assistant dean of the college of theology before resigning in 2004 due to an unhappy work environment and relocated with his wife and three children back to his home state of Texas.
Currently, Langston works in what he calls the often underappreciated and misunderstood position of an adjunct professor.
“I feel a lot of the time there’s a certain stigma with being labeled an adjunct, but the bottom line is I’m happy, I like the freedom I have as an adjunct and I’m still getting paid to do what I love – teach.”
And Langston loves what he teaches, as well. For spring 2010, Langston is teaching a biblical archaeology class focusing on the historical accuracy of the Bible, ancient biblical sites and the various archaeological finds discovered therein. He himself has been to three different sites in present-day Israel; Megiddo, Hazor and Gezer.
Langston recalls an entertaining time when he brought he brand new wife on a dig to Megiddo.
“Here I am, a professor and semi-expert on this stuff and I’m finding tiny shards of pottery, mud bricks and the like, and I’ve been doing these digs for 20 some-odd years. What does my wife find the second day of her first dig? Coins and precious jewelry! It was just too funny; my family still laughs about that to this day.”
Langston says he is allotted a special place to keep some of the treasured artifacts he occasionally has gotten to keep on digs: the shed.
“Well, I have one or two waist-high collar-rimmed store jars and boxes of pottery shards from everywhere. I’ve got some religious deity figurines in there too, some coins and more boxes with mysterious contents. My wife just doesn’t understand, or maybe she does, you know and just doesn’t want all stuff littering the house,” Langston laughs.
He is very close to his family and proud of it. His daughter was just accepted to the University of Oklahoma and Langston doesn’t know what he’s going to do. He playfully shields his eyes with hands and mimes crying.
“Anywhere but OU, I told her, and what does she do? Pick OU!”
He laughs, professing an “unbiased” lifelong hatred for the Sooners.
“You know, I’ve gone my whole life despising that school, making fun of dang Sooners every chance I get and now, where am I going to be making checks out to? Ugh, if she wasn’t my only daughter," he says with a smile.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Profile: Student born outside U.S.
Profile: Linnette Romero Strategic communication major
Hometown: San Salvador, El Salvador
Year: Sophomore
Linnette Romero has lived in the U.S. for over two years now and there are still two things she can’t get used to- driving and Americans.
In Romero’s home country of El Salvador, there are barely any laws or regulations concerning the rules of the road.
“It’s a free-for-all and so much easier to understand. Everyone does their own speed, which is very fast, and people just know how to drive. There are no four-way stops or yielding- you just drive.”
She admits she gets frustrated on a daily basis, but she agrees it is safer to drive in American versus El Salvador.
“There are a lot more accidents back home, definitely. And there are a lot more walking people, pedestrians, injured,” Romero reported.
But, that’s just the tip of the iceberg for Romero; she finally received her U.S. driving permit and is getting used to the roads, but the people still are much of a mystery to her. She says mastering the language is one of the issues, the rest she just chalks up to the “very different” people.
“I think a lot of the time, Americans come off as arrogant, but it’s just because they’re outgoing and more friendly, also louder,” Romero says with a laugh. “They mean well, but the rest of the world has a bad, negative image of them.”
Romero says she loves living in the states and she thinks she’s almost perfected American kids’ use of English slang. When she first moved to the states, Romero said she had a very difficult time, but, ironically enough, she said listening to American music – pop, rap and hip hop – helped her understand much faster and easier.
“It sounds kind of dumb, I know, but what we are taught in the classroom and how formal it is, is not how people really talk, especially at college.”
Romero says she is a naturally shy person; her friends at home in El Salvador gave her the nickname of “la ardilla” or “squirrel,” when she was younger because she was so quiet. When she first met Iliana, Romero said she didn’t know if she and her super-involved, talkative, engaging roommate would get along. The “squirrel,” however, soon made quick friends with her newly christened roommate, “la pajarita,” or “little bird.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without her; she’d like having a best friend, a study buddy and a sister, all in one,” Romero said.
They often are mistaken as sisters, Romero said. Though Romero is barely five feet tall and Iliana seven inches taller, both sport dark, chocolate-brown eyes, nearly black hair and similar complexions. Tight, corkscrew curls adorn Romero’s head and brush her shoulders, however, Iliana’s hair is pin-straight and nearly to her waist.
The two are basically inseparable, Romero says, except for one instance; they cannot drive together.
“She drives like a grandma!” Romero said, "It drives me crazy!"
Hometown: San Salvador, El Salvador
Year: Sophomore
Linnette Romero has lived in the U.S. for over two years now and there are still two things she can’t get used to- driving and Americans.
In Romero’s home country of El Salvador, there are barely any laws or regulations concerning the rules of the road.
“It’s a free-for-all and so much easier to understand. Everyone does their own speed, which is very fast, and people just know how to drive. There are no four-way stops or yielding- you just drive.”
She admits she gets frustrated on a daily basis, but she agrees it is safer to drive in American versus El Salvador.
“There are a lot more accidents back home, definitely. And there are a lot more walking people, pedestrians, injured,” Romero reported.
But, that’s just the tip of the iceberg for Romero; she finally received her U.S. driving permit and is getting used to the roads, but the people still are much of a mystery to her. She says mastering the language is one of the issues, the rest she just chalks up to the “very different” people.
“I think a lot of the time, Americans come off as arrogant, but it’s just because they’re outgoing and more friendly, also louder,” Romero says with a laugh. “They mean well, but the rest of the world has a bad, negative image of them.”
Romero says she loves living in the states and she thinks she’s almost perfected American kids’ use of English slang. When she first moved to the states, Romero said she had a very difficult time, but, ironically enough, she said listening to American music – pop, rap and hip hop – helped her understand much faster and easier.
“It sounds kind of dumb, I know, but what we are taught in the classroom and how formal it is, is not how people really talk, especially at college.”
Romero says she is a naturally shy person; her friends at home in El Salvador gave her the nickname of “la ardilla” or “squirrel,” when she was younger because she was so quiet. When she first met Iliana, Romero said she didn’t know if she and her super-involved, talkative, engaging roommate would get along. The “squirrel,” however, soon made quick friends with her newly christened roommate, “la pajarita,” or “little bird.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without her; she’d like having a best friend, a study buddy and a sister, all in one,” Romero said.
They often are mistaken as sisters, Romero said. Though Romero is barely five feet tall and Iliana seven inches taller, both sport dark, chocolate-brown eyes, nearly black hair and similar complexions. Tight, corkscrew curls adorn Romero’s head and brush her shoulders, however, Iliana’s hair is pin-straight and nearly to her waist.
The two are basically inseparable, Romero says, except for one instance; they cannot drive together.
“She drives like a grandma!” Romero said, "It drives me crazy!"
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Beasley Hall Happenings
#1: Sister Helen Prejean, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and author of Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness of The Death Penalty, will speak at Brite Divinity School’s Fifth Roman Catholic Lecture on Tuesday, March 2, at 7 p.m. in Ed Landreth Auditorium. Topic is “The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions.”
#2:This course will explore the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4 from different critical perspectives, ranging from the Lord’s Prayer’s earliest version, history on how the Prayer came about, and its literary background to the more contemporary perspectives relating to social justice and liberation reflected in it. Happens 2/27 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.
New Profile- Dr. Andria Timmer, Anthropologist/ Personal Profile Analysis
Ultimately, I had a rather difficult time of identifying a unifying theme for this profile on Dr. Timmer. She was very interesting and very accommodating and nice to interview. I hope I wasn't too corny or cliche coming up with her being a humanitarian because, although it sounds overdone and elementary- it really it who she is.
I tried multiple times to contact her former colleague and career inspiration Dr. John Hartigan, an anthropology professor at UT, but he never responded to my attempts. It's a shame, really, because I have no doubt he would've been a great source and very informative.
Dr. Timmer was rather guarded on some details concerning her family and she effectively sidestepped a few of my questions, which greatly piqued my interest, but I didn't want to lose the interview or control over it, so I kind of let her go. In hindsight, I guess I wish I would've pressed her a bit harder for the answers to those personal questions. I would've loved to have heard more about her young son and about the chance meeting between she and her husband.
Overall, I felt I was very true to Timmer and her personality and describing her love for her profession.
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