By Brittney Gaspar
Craig Gardner, is a favorite teacher of those who have taken his classes, and while he may not be a well known or recognized professor here on campus, he leaves a lasting effect on all of his students.
Craig received his masters degree from the University of Miami, and was not at all interested in teaching when he did so. It was only when he realized that teaching is just like acting did he decide to pursue the field. Before teaching here on Maui, Craig spent some time in Hollywood trying to make it big. Craig states that his favorite part of teaching are his students and he loves to see how a light comes into their eyes when they first understand what it is being taught. He also believes that when it comes down to it all, he learns more than his students do.
Before joining the staff here at UH Maui, Craig was teaching on a Navy ship, and his parents were living in Lahaina.One day, while visiting, he happened to pick a newspaper with an advertisement for a lecture position, and he hasn’t looked back since. Over the years, he has taught many courses, including:
-Communications
-Speech
-Creative Writing
-Acting
-Playwriting
-Humanities
-Intro To Drama
-Dramatic Production
However, he mainly teaches humanities, along with a few theatre courses now, and he loves all the courses he has. This semester (Fall 2017) he is teaching an Intro To Drama courses, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:30 – 11:45. His philosophy in the classroom is that you can’t force someone to learn, you can only open the door for them.
When some of his students were asked what they thought of Craig, they all agreed he was fun and understanding, gladly agreeing they would take any of his classes.
