Macon State College MVPs is a web feature that profiles notable students, alumni, faculty and staff.
Once a professional stand-up comic (really!), Dr. Elise Langan now teaches aspiring teachers.
Full Name: Elise Langan.
Originally From: Atlanta.
Residence: Macon.
Family: Sisters, Mallory and Joan; brothers, Peter and John; boyfriend, Vern McCarty; dog, Wally aka Wallis, courtesy of Dr. Carol Melton, Macon State dog rescuer-in chief.
Job Title: Assistant professor of education.
Degrees: B.S., Northwestern University; M.S., University of Southern California; Ph.D., New York University.
Year she joined the Macon State faculty: 2009.
Some of her teaching career highlights are … “Hearing from my students after they have graduated and gone on to distinguish themselves and/or to appreciate the value and privilege of education. Over the summer, I was invited to Washington to participate in the Teacher Training Institute at the Library of Congress which was a great honor. It also made me feel like a graduate student again. I loved being a college student, which is why I spent 11 years at it.”
She enjoys teaching at Macon State College because … “I find the students infinitely interesting. I love the fact that they are ‘non-traditional’ since their lives are much more multi-faceted and complex. I also admire the sacrifices they make to come here and how hard many of them work.”
Her favorite course to teach is... “I can't really answer this since I enjoy all my classes and the different groups of students in them, because they're always different. Whenever anyone tells me they think teaching in monotonous, I tell them to find something else to do. What is the expression? ‘Only the boring are bored.’"
One thing people don't know about Macon State is … “It's the best deal out there.”
One thing people don't know about her is … “I used to be a stand-up comic in Los Angeles. It's the kind of profession where you have a great night or a terrible night--depending on how your set goes. Either way, you can't get any sleep since you're exhilarated or suicidal. I had the best night of my career in a really cool club and decided it was a good time to move on.”
In her spare time she likes to … “Read, cook, go to museums and movies, hang out with friends, and play Frisbee with Wally and Vern.”
The one person she’d most like to meet is … “Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court. I would love to ask her what it was like during the first few closed sessions.”
If she wasn't a college professor she would be … “A lawyer because often people think I'm a lawyer, or should have been a lawyer. In fact, I seriously considered going to law school but ultimately made the right decision since teaching aspiring teachers remains my passion. But I do enjoy learning about law, particularly how it is increasingly affecting the educational field. I try to encourage my students to learn more about it so they understand the myriad politics of education.”