As a child, Annette Roter would teach things to her stuffed animals. It’s a story her mother always shares and is probably a reason why Annette, who is the new lead faculty for the Human Resources and Administrative Assistant programs, went into teaching.

Born in Chicago and growing up in Ladysmith, Annette holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, a master’s in Training and Organizational Development and a Ph.D. in Organizational Management with a Leadership emphasis.

Knowing she didn’t want to teach K-12, Annette fell in love with training and development, especially leadership development.

“I decided that I enjoyed training and wanted to teach adults in Higher Education,” she said.  “I went on for my degree and have been teaching since.”

After starting her education at a technical college, Annette wanted to return to that environment to help students build their careers. The flexibility to work with students and use the technology features that are offered are what drew her to Blackhawk.

Additionally, the flexible education at the college is something Annette says helps to meet the learning needs of the students.

“Being supportive means being flexible, some students don’t work on their class work until the evening or weekends,” she said. “Being able to address their needs is something that I think is important.”

Annette sees Blackhawk as a college with a positive environment with all of the resources that a student needs to be successful, giving them an opportunity to gain and develop their skills.

Outside of the classroom, Annette enjoys writing. She has written a few nonfiction books but would like to write a fiction novel, which she says is harder for her than writing nonfiction. She also enjoys photography and knitting and hopes to start volunteering, which she did with the Humane Society of Logan County in Illinois, prior to moving to Beloit.