INSTRUCTOR BIO

Instructor: Mary Valentine Taft, M. S.

E-Mail: mtaft@bcconline.com

Educational Background: MS, Psychology, 1980

School of Industrial-Organizational Psychology

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

BA, Psychology, 1976

Cal-State University, Hayward

Hayward, California

AA, Chabot College, 1973

Hayward, California

First of all, if any of you have not, as yet, decided who you want to be or what you want to do when you grow up, welcome to the club. Some of you may actually be frustrated because you feel that you should have already accomplished your goals, but have not. Frustration sets in when you see people in the entertainment field, as an example, who appear to have lucked out because they were in the right places at the right time. You see their beautiful homes, automobiles, designer clothing, etc., and feel that, in all probability, you will never accomplish your dream at your slow pace.

Very few of us win the lottery, which will surely bring about an abrupt dream realization. Others must still work hard to accomplish their dreams. But we still carry on; we will continue reaching for them. We will still play the lottery and hope. It is very disappointing sometimes, but wouldn’t it be boring if there was no hope?

I am one of those people who thought I did not know what or who I wanted to be when I grew up. One of my goals was to open an art gallery and exhibit paintings. I would come home from work, sit down to my paint pallete, and become lost in colors and shades. It was very satisfying and when I finished painting, I was able to bask in my work, which was very rewarding. I sold a few paintings and exhibited a few of them. Another love was sewing. I designed and sewed all my evening gowns, wedding gowns for my daughter and daughter-in-law and others, and designer shirts for my husband using exotic fabrics. That led me to want to enter the fashion industry.

Another love was gourmet cooking. I still like to do that, but on a much more limited basis, mostly for my great husband, Larry. I never wanted to be a chef, however.

Music is another great love. When I was a little girl, I visited my great-randmother. I loved playing her piano. And now that I look back, I wonder how she withstood what I believed to be "concertos". Maybe she thought someday I would be a great pianist. (Or maybe she went outside when I was banging on the piano). But I did learn to play by ear. I have always had a piano in my home, and always will. I love to sing, also. I am a jazz singer and have always wanted to be a song stylist. Before I graduated from high school, my goal was to be a concert singer. I could hit those high notes like Mariah Carey. However, the timing was not right. No one wanted to listen to a ‘high E’, then.

When I was living in the Bay Area, I was very involved in civic duties. I was a Commissioner on the Revenue Sharing Board of a Bay Area County, a member of the State of California Commission on the Status of Women, a member of the League of Women Voters, a Soroptomist, a Commissioner and Chair of a Bay Area Historical-Cultural Commission, The Deaf Referral Agency, the Advocates for Women, and others too numerous to mention. I also substitute taught for 2 Bay Area school districts for grades K-1 to K-12. I also ‘temped’ for a prestigious Bay Area Law Firm. I never wanted to be a politician. I was a legal secretary, but really thought about entering the field of law as an entertainment attorney.

I did all these things, but finally realized that if I wanted to have a ‘career’, it meant succeeding in college. So I entered college as a re-entry student after I had reared my three children. I then decided that after all I had experienced in life, it was time to do something for myself. I enrolled at Chabot College in Hayward, California, received my AA; enrolled at Cal-State University, Hayward, and received my BA; enrolled at San Francisco State University and received my MS in Psychology. I still want to obtain my Doctorate in Education. I have my own opinions about the current educational system which needs a major change which will be my emphasis. I am trying to slot some time for that while I am teaching.

While working toward my Master’s Degree, I worked for the Federal Government Agency, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in San Francisco, California. After I graduated, I accepted a job offer as the Affirmative Action Officer for an airlines. From

Page 4 – Bio – Mary V. Taft, M. S.

there, I opened my own Management Consulting Firm, consulting with several Fortune 500 companies in the Bay Area. I think I always wanted to be an entrepreneur and I really enjoyed being in business for myself. It is very hard work, sometimes disappointing, and the pay is not always that great, but the job satisfaction is wonderful, because you are the boss. The down side is that people do not always like to pay on time, or at all. That is one thing that I did not like about being in business for myself, but it goes with the territory.

Still confused about what I wanted to do? So was I. I had another love that I did not know existed. Teaching! My teaching experience began when we moved from the Bay Area to Southern California. I started teaching for National University, both at its Palm Springs Campus and its 29 Palms Marine Base Campus; College of the Desert in Palm Desert; Upper Iowa University at Fort Irwin; Cal-State University, San Bernardino; Victor Valley College; Barstow College at both the Barstow Campus and its Fort Irwin Campus. I really loved teaching the marines and the soldiers, still do, and remain friends with many of them. Now I am teaching online, which is a great challenge and the wave of the future for teaching.

I then relocated to Victorville, California, to help close George Air Force Base. I was Employment Supervisor of nine professionals in the areas of retraining and/or providing educational opportunities for the employees who lost their jobs as a result of the base closure. My hubby and I liked Victorville so well that we purchased our home and are now permanent residents. I have been teaching college ever since I moved here, and love it. So what am I saying? I am saying that we are not always in charge of our lives, in fact, hardly ever. So as life progresses, we make many changes in our lives, do many things, and change our paths in directions that we never anticipated.

What do ‘people’ say? ‘When are you going to make up your mind what you want to do?’ Well, none of your business. This is one of those times you can say, ‘Stay out of my life; I am doing what I want to do, and if it is not hurting you, then bug off!’ That is when you can ‘go for it’ and it means something significant.

So maybe being a College Professor was what I was supposed to do, I don’t know. But I like it. Are we always in charge of our lives? Again, hardly ever. But I like my lifestyle and what I do. So do not feel too badly if you are not yet sure of what you want to do or who you want to be. Just be sure that you like what you are doing. That is most important.

However, there is another side to this equation. Teachers cannot guarantee or accomplish successful student matriculation if a concerted effort is not made by the student to work toward that end. It is a two-sided equation.

By the end of the semester, I look for student improvement in writing skills, the ability to follow instructions, improved communication and critical thinking skills, and good time management skills. I also look for improved learning curves. I believe that students should expend an extraordinary amount of effort in order to earn an ‘A’. An ‘A’ means excellent and if students want an ‘A’ , it must be earned.

It is very important for students to adhere to professional standards, not only in college, but in life. A student who has poor time management skills, poor report writing skills, does not meet assigned deadlines and cannot communicate well in writing, or verbally, will also be a poor candidate for a job or a career option.

A college education is an investment, whether the tuition be paid by grants or the student. The difference between investing in a college education and investing money in the stock market is that the stock market does not always guarantee a good return on your money, while a college degree does. It will always belong to the student and cannot be taken away by anyone.

A college education not only provides learning, but also the necessary skills needed to succeed in life. While attending college, it is sometimes difficult to understand how these academic skills will fit into the real world arena. One may not see the light in the tunnel now, but will later.

I recall that during my graduate year, one of my Professors told the class ‘It is about the ‘a-ha’ syndrome. One may not see the light now, but when you are in the midst of your chosen career or occupation, you will say, ‘ah-ha! I am beginning to see the light in the tunnel.’ I did not have a clue as to what the Professor meant. Now I do. He meant that  we would be constantly using our learned educational skills, while not realizing that we are. Now I know exactly what he meant. It took a long time, but "ah-ha! I now see the light in the tunnel."