paytonwebb

 Dr. Elaine Venter is a mass communications professor, advisor, e-sports coach, and an altogether remarkable member of the CMU community. Her classes are beloved by her students for both the engaging content and valuable lessons that are learned, as well as the wonderful memories made in a room with a professor who genuinely loves what she does. What many of her students may not know is the incredible amount of effort she has put into becoming the teacher they love. She has worked incredibly hard and come so far, and she still wants to work harder and go farther.    Through a 10,000-mile journey across the sea and more than eight years working on her postgraduate career, Dr. Venter is an inspiration and role model to anyone lucky enough to take her classes.  "There's that saying that if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. But I think if you really love what you do, then it's worth working for."   -Anonymous  Q: To get started, can ...

        I had a relatively normal childhood, as much as any childhood can be normal. I groaned about homework, played with my friends as often as possible, and I always went to Grandma’s house when I wanted some extra treats. I was just your average awkward high school student, and everything seemed fine. It wasn’t until about a month into my sophomore year when I really noticed that I felt generally unwell, and maybe had for a while. I was always tired, and the feeling didn’t change no matter how many hours of sleep I got. It became difficult to focus, and it took everything I had just to stay awake, even in the classes that I loved. Despite having always been a straight-A student, my grades started slipping as even the simplest assignment seemed impossible to do.      My mom started taking me to doctor's appointments, and I was tested for everything from Mono to Leukemia. I got somewhere around ten blood tests in a 3-week period, and we were still ...