Claire and Tom Lamonica Outstanding University Teaching Award

Julie Navickas, M.S.

• Director of Student Success and Recruitment in the School of Communication 
• Masters of Science from Illinois State University in 2010 and 2018 

What is the core of your teaching philosophy in one sentence?

 The best teachers show you where to look, but don't tell you what to see. 

My motivation to become a college professor comes from … 

I applied to graduate school on a whim and was accepted in the School of Communication as a graduate teaching assistant. After teaching for those two years, I realized how much I loved the classroom. And if I couldn't be a student anymore, then I wanted to be a professor. 

The three most valuable or important methods/approaches/attitudes/etc. that I bring to my teaching practice are … 

Flexibility (being a student is hard; it's my goal to make it more manageable)  

Partnership (I learn as much as I teach)  

Workshop (you cannot become a better writer without practice!) 

The resource or person that has been the most important influence on my teaching career is … (and why) 

I have two, Elizabeth Chupp and Dr. Steve Hunt.

Elizabeth served as my peer mentor while I was a graduate teaching assistant. She taught me how to be a teacher and has served as not only my mentor and friend, but is also now my supervisor! Dr. Hunt has continuously supported and encouraged me since the first day I sat in his classroom as an undergraduate student in 2007. I've never met anyone who believed in me more. 

Best compliment that I’ve received from a student was … 

"To be honest, I think she's got it. Like they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!" 

“The best teachers show you where to look, but don’t tell you what to see.”