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COLLEGE FOCUS
From Student to Professor A CLC degree will start you on the road to anywhere, including back to the college to teach.
C
LC alumni often credit the college with helping them find their way to a career they love. In the case of a growing number of alumni, however, the CLC experiences includes not just finding a professional calling but also returning to the college as full-time professors.
support, I would have never finished,” she said. Inspired by her mentors, Norwood earned an A.A.S. in phlebotomy from CLC and later earned a B.A. in biology from Barat College.
“The younger students are quick to help me when I encounter a computer glitch while presenting,” he said with a smile
Angela Norwood (’95), for example, now teaches phlebotomy after having worked at clinics and blood banks as well as Abbott Laboratories before being hired as a full-time instructor in 2008. Norwood came to CLC as a student after spending two stressful years at a large state university and dropping out. She immediately felt welcome in CLC’s smaller class sizes, and later found mentors in professors Anne Loeb (chemistry) and Leslie Hopkins (philosophy and humanities). “Anne encouraged me, as I was a woman entering the male-dominated field of science,” Norwood said. “Leslie told me not to think of myself as a college dropout. She let me know that there were others in my situation. If I didn’t have that
Bob Lossmann (‘71) enrolled at CLC as a recent high school graduate in the fall of 1969, when the college first opened. Thinking he wanted to be an architect, he took architectural drafting classes, but soon realized that the technical aspects of the field didn’t appeal to him. In high school he had taken an art class and liked it and decided to try art again at CLC. Thus was born a lifelong passion. After graduating from CLC, Lossmann transferred to Northern Illinois University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in art education and a M.F.A. After supporting himself as a working artist and through teaching stints as a CLC adjunct and at art centers around Lake County, Lossmann was hired as a full-time art instructor at the college in 1995. At nearly 60, he is now sharing his passion for studio arts with the grandsons and granddaughters of his former students.
As a traditional-aged freshman in 1972, Mary Ann Bretzlauf (‘94) followed the pragmatic advice of others and enrolled in business classes at CLC. But she later withdrew to work fulltime, get married and have a child. In 1992, Bretzlauf decided to return to CLC to nurture her literary passion. “Reading has defined my life,” she explained. “While growing up in Waukegan, I looked forward to weekly trips to the library with my parents. By the time I was in my late 30s, I realized that literature was something that I had loved all along.” Returning to CLC, she found the encouragement she needed to pursue a degree in English. “I was excited to publish an essay in ‘Prairie Voices,’” she said. After graduating from CLC, Bretzlauf earned a B.A. in English from Carthage College and an M.A. from Northwestern University. She began teaching fulltime at the college in 2000.
Professor Angela Norwood (’95)
Professor Bob Lossmann (’71)
Professor Mary Ann Bretzlauf (’94)
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