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The student news site of Milwaukee Area Technical College

MATC Times

The student news site of Milwaukee Area Technical College

MATC Times

The student news site of Milwaukee Area Technical College

MATC Times

English instructor is no bookworm

    Jill Zellmer of the Oak Creek Campus is a teacher who loves what she does for a living and wouldn’t change it for the world.This holder of a doctorate in English with a history of teaching accomplishments has lived in Milwaukee for 38 years. She is married, and before she came to MATC in 2007 she taught in Michigan for two years, and at UWM. She also taught at Upper Iowa University and Rufus King High School in Milwaukee.

    Her Ph.D. took 10 years to get and is one of her proudest achievements. Another achievement is a teaching award she received, by student vote, at Upper Iowa University. Zellmer is very family oriented and loves to spend time with her niece and nephew. Zellmer also loves animals and has three cats named Pike, Joe and Stella. But she states, “My fantasy pet would be a miniature elephant.” Her aunt is Zellmer’s “traveling buddy” and they have visited Costa Rica, Ireland and Hawaii.

    During her traveling Zellmer has experienced whale watching, snorkeling, pubs and limerick writing in Ireland. Also in Ireland she visited the famous Guinness brewery and did a little bit of “taste testing.”

    In addition to her aunt, Zellmer has four close friends dating back to her high school years. Along with traveling, family and friends, animals and literature, she enjoys competitive ping pong, bike riding, board games and music and film.

    Some of the English instructor’s favorite authors are Margaret Atwood, Karen Russell, Earnest J. Gaines, Toni Morrison and Stephen King. Among these authors’ novels that she enjoys are Sula, Beloved and A Lesson Before Dying.

    “I enjoy all music, except heavy metal, which is sometimes hard to stand,” states Zellmer. Her favorite musicians are Bonnie Raitt, Van Morrison, Maroon 5, Public Enemy, Pink, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Rob Bass, and Salt ‘N’ Pepper.

    A lot of people might think an English teacher with a Ph.D. would just lecture students and spend her time buried in a book. On the contrary, she is an unpretentious, friendly and good-humored person who views her students as new friends.

    Dr. Zellmer is a renaissance individual who grabs life with kung fu grip and makes a great, warm-hearted first impression. Influenced by her college professors, she follows their footsteps by attempting to convince her students that they are capable of accomplishing whatever they desire.

    “I joke that Jill has to be older than she looks because she taught me in an English class, says Tom Jozwik, also an English teacher on the Oak Creek Campus. “Actually, Jill is a whole lot younger than I am. It was a graduate course in film and the novel at UWM not that long ago and Jill was an excellent teacher. I was very pleased when she came to MATC. Our college is certainly fortunate to have her.

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