Tiffany Garrison-Stanley came to Blackhawk four years ago as a full-time Science instructor. After becoming Academic Chair of Math and Science, she is now moving into the role of Administrative Chair of the General Education Department. Her position will oversee the launch of the school’s new Associate of Arts and Associate of Science programs.
Growing up in Polo, a little farm town in Illinois, Tiffany studied Biological Science/Pre-Med at Quincy University in Illinois. Working as a microbiologist in the Chicago area after graduating, she moved to Wisconsin to attend graduate school at UW-Madison, studying to be a neurosurgeon.
However, Tiffany quickly realized that research and surgery did not ignite the passion she was looking for in a career. Having the opportunity to teach Gross Anatomy and other Anatomy and Physiology courses led her in a different direction.
“I really enjoyed helping students and was very passionate about using our current understanding of brain function to inform innovative teaching methods, so I decided to defend my thesis and leave with a master’s degree in Neurophysiology,” she said.
After adjunct teaching at Blackhawk, Tiffany found a full-time position at Gateway Technical College but jumped at the chance to return to Blackhawk when a position opened. In addition to teaching, she also worked to launch the Anatomy Learning Center, a flex lab that uses innovative teaching methods and technology to support health occupation students.
Tiffany believes the technical college system is an integral component of bettering the community and the opportunities of those that live here, and she enjoys seeing her students succeed.
“This career allows me to experience the resilience of the human spirit every single day,” she said. “To witness our students overcome the challenges they face and rise to a place of pride and achievement is truly inspiring.”
While education faces unique challenges as we move into the future, Tiffany feels that Blackhawk willingly fosters innovation to meet those challenges and adapts to the needs of its students and the community.
“In many ways, Blackhawk sits on the cutting edge of the future of educational practices, and I am proud to be part of the team,” she said.
Some of those practices were already in place prior to the pandemic. The science department had already been adapting to its students’ needs for a more flexible learning environment. This led to an online option for all of the science course offerings - even a virtual dissection using the Automage Table for the Human Anatomy courses.
All of this helps reinforce Blackhawk’s mission of providing a flexible education in a supportive environment, which is something Tiffany believes means “meeting the student where they are.”
“We have to be flexible on the time, the place, and the way they receive information as they move through their courses at Blackhawk,” she said. “We also need to be supportive of our students through caring and inclusive practices.”
Away from the office (or lab), Tiffany is an avid nature lover and spends most of her time gardening, camping, fishing, hiking or kayaking. Whenever she has time off, you can find her loading her gear and her dog up to head to the woods.