Dr. Michele Crockett, a new associate professor in curriculum and instruction in the College of Education and Technology at Eastern New Mexico University, was drawn to ENMU thanks to her southwestern roots and interest in working at a student-focused school.

"I wanted to be at a university that focused more on educating students as opposed to doing research," she explained. "Also, my roots are in the southwest. Being here places me closer to California, Arizona and New Mexico family and friends.

"I was drawn to this University because a large number of its student body are first-generation college students," added Dr. Crockett, who was the first in her family to seek and complete a four-year degree.

The professor was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and lived in Avondale, Arizona, for the first eight years of her life. Both of her parents were from Texas; her mother was born in Crockett and her father in Dallas.

Her mother's family moved from Crockett to Ajo, Arizona, then to Avondale. Her father's family moved to Carlsbad, New Mexico when he was young. She has two sisters who live in California, one brother who lives in Colorado and many cousins who live in the Phoenix area.

Her father was in the Air Force, which meant Dr. Crockett had the "good fortune of living abroad during the majority of my school years." She spent four years on the island of Okinawa at Kadena Air Force Base and two years on the island of Guam at Anderson Air Force Base. The family was also briefly at Vance Air Force Base near Enid, Oklahoma.

Dr. Crockett graduated from Desert High School at Edwards Air Force Base, located in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences in 1984 and a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction in 1990, both from the University of California, Riverside. She received a Doctor of Philosophy in Education with a specialization in curriculum, teaching studies, cognition and learning and policy from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1999.

When asked how she chose her fields of study, she explained that her "first love is science." She then pursued the "very broad field of mathematics education after I discovered that the first group of fourth graders I taught were fearful of and/or turned off to math. It was eye-opening, as I felt they were too young to be turned off to anything."

At the time, her only professional development opportunities were available in English language arts and mathematics. "My principal [when she worked as a public school teacher in Riverside for eight years, teaching third to seventh grades] happily sent me to mathematics education conferences, where I began the journey of developing expertise in mathematics teaching and learning," she said. "I then pursued it in my graduate studies."

Dr. Crockett has held academic positions at the University of Southern California and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she taught undergraduate courses and graduate courses. The courses she has taught include research methods, sociology and psychology of education, K-8 mathematics methods, teacher professional learning, formative assessment and issues and trends in mathematics education.

At ENMU, she is teaching ELED 406, a six-hour course focused on science and mathematics methods for elementary education students seeking licensure to teach in elementary classrooms, and CI531, a core course in the master's program called "Critical Pedagogy and Educational Reform."

The professor doesn't have a favorite class. "For me, that is like comparing apples and oranges," she explained. "But, I do like helping students think about what counts as a good lesson on the one hand and how socio-cultural factors influence what happens in schools, on the other."

Her goal for her position at ENMU is to "contribute to the programs in which I teach. For example, I can see the teacher education program being the best in the state. I hope that we can strive for that kind of excellence."

She enjoys the "general friendliness of the townspeople, faculty, staff and students" in the Portales community. She also likes the size of the ENMU campus, since it is "easy to get around on foot."

Dr. Crockett is currently working on finishing a paper with a former doctoral student who conducted an interview study of secondary teachers' understandings of formative assessment and how it is practiced in classrooms.

While she has earned professional accolades, Dr. Crockett said her "greatest accomplishment has been parenting my nephews. I adopted my two nephews, who are now grown men and the greatest loves of my life."

She has served and community boards and volunteered at the local county jail in her former community. She has also been active in professional organizations, including the American Educational Research Association.

She admires those who are "trying to make the world a better place, especially for the less fortunate. They do it unselfishly, often at great sacrifice. They typically are people in the trenches: teachers, social workers, nurses and other unsung heroes."

Her interests include reading novels and academic literature. She recently started reading a book titled "Race and the Cosmos." She also loves to travel. "I was a military brat, so I suppose it should be no surprise. I have been to countries in Europe, including England, Scotland, Wales, France, Germany and Italy. In the next couple of years, I would like to visit Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand."

An interesting fact about Dr. Crockett is that she has been a "Trekker" since Star Trek first aired in 1966. "I love all the series and I am crazy about the new television show 'Star Trek: Discovery.'"