The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 173, No. 5, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 22, 2007 Page: 4 of 12
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Features
Page 4
THE J-TAC
February 22, 2007
A Texas state of mind
By AKHIL KADIDAL
Managing Editor
Dr. Gary Peer, provost of Tarleton State Uni-
versity, is retiring on Aug. 1 — the 40th anni-
versary of the beginning of his career in higher
education.
Born in Kansas, Peer, 66, spent most of his
life in educational institutions around the coun-
try. He and his wife, Beverly came to Texas and
Tarleton six years ago, lured by the promise of
spending more time with his family and the op-
portunity to discover for himself, the Texas state
of mind,
"One night, we literally sat down to decide
where we were going to spend the rest of our
lives/' Peer said. "Not surprisingly, the circle we
drew around the map was a big one, but it in-
cluded Texas."
Born in Hoisington, Kansas, Peer began his
career as a high school counselor. He later got
his master's degree in education from Emporia
State University with a minor in higher educa-
tion administration because he was interested in
universities and colleges.
"I came from a family of educators, and I
should probably acknowledge that I never seri-
ously considered a career in another field," Peer
said. "I perhaps should have considered anoth-
er career, but perhaps not, because it is hard to
have a career that enables one to stay in touch
with young people, I have never regretted my
choice of careers."
Peer's first university level job was at Empo-
ria in 1967, But, deciding to pursue a doctorate
soon after, Peer loaded up his young family and
all four pieces of the family's furniture and drove
up to Indiana University at Bloomington. There
they encountered a world far different from the
pastoral culture of Kansas — a place beset by the
turbulent anti-war protests of the Vietnam War.
"We had been relatively insulated in Kansas,
but in Indiana, we were suddenly introduced to
a different culture," Peer said. "I sort of 'cut my
Courtesy; University News Service
Dr. Gary Peer is retiring Aug 1. It will be his 40th anniversary as an educator.
teeth' in this period. It was a fascinating period
in our history, and I was able to see how a pub-
lic university (with about 3500 students) was
able to accommodate a wider view of public
opinion and public expression,,.and that was'
exciting."
The experience had a significant impact on
the Peers.
"We realized how big the tent really was.
The [protestors'] opposition to government
was heartfelt..,After the shootings at Kent
State University (on May 4, 1970), there was
absolute electricity in the air that I will never
forget," Peer said. "It was one of the most
memorable times of my life."
In a way, his experiences as a young edu-
cator in the '60s helped Peer form a bond with
higher education and young students. One of
the greatest regrets with retiring, he explained,
was that he would have a very limited oppor-
tunity to interact with young people. The cost
of retiring itself is a heavy decision to make,
and one that was not and should not be lightly
made.
"The question [of retirement] is something
that people have, to at some point, confront,"
Peer said. "1 myself have decided to retire for
all the 'selfish' reasons. Reasons such as family
and a time to pursue my other interests, such
as attending music events, watching plays and
writing — something I have absolutely no time
for at the moment. Retirement will afford me
the time to do all that/'
Peer intends to use his newfound time in
the pursuit of other equally satisfying tasks, not
least of all to write two books — one dealing,
with higher education, and the other, counsel-
ing. Many new higher education administra-
tors do not have a background in or an accurate
idea of the innards of the education system,
Peer explained. Much of their intuition of their
jobs comes from their own, limited experience
of college.
"I intend to write a firsthand view based
on my experiences, as well as another book on
counseling, examining self-adequacy and self;
ethics in young adults," Peer said, +
In many ways, Peer met the objectives that
he set out for himself. His desire to discover
the magic of Texas was achieved with a half a
decade's worth of residence in the state. With a
frown, he explained that he had always won?
dered about Texas. t
"In my mind it was such a colorful state.
It overflows with the robustness of the Texas
persona that is comical on one hand and inter-
esting on the other." Then, with a grin, added,:
"That is perhaps why they. [Texans] are so full
of themselves sometimes." >
Peer's impression of Texans is based on
his many years of living in other areas of the
country. He found that at the core level, Texans
were not that different from other Americans;
but they possess a depth founded in solid prinJ
ciples. I
"It is a principle of personal responsibility;
and a deep feeling about family," Peer said. {
While Peer said he will always consid-*
ers himself a Kansan, Texas, like many of thd
places he has been to, has had its influence on
him. ;
"I feel that all the places I've lived in have
been so wonderful, that I consider myself a for-!
tunafe man," Peer said. \
The ultimate lesson to come out of having
spent 40 years in higher education, Peer said, is
his realization that "people are more alike than
they are different."
In that way Peer's goals when he had start
ed out a young counselor four decades ago,
were finally realized.
Burnout blues can be easily avoided
By MANDI ROBERTS
Staff Writer
Pre-school, elementary school,
junior high, high school, community
college, college, graduate school...
the process of education becomes a
marathon.
Suddenly, one year from the fin-
ish line, the chest pains start firing,
a leg begins cramping, someone just
informed you a bill is due, you are
scheduled for 40 hours of work and
you forgot to eat supper because
you were in five meetings and filling
out internship applications. Fatigue
threatens that coveted trophy.
How does a student fight col-
lege burn-out?
"Kids don't necessarily get
burned out with school, but with the
lifestyle that goes with it," Happy
Holland, graduate of Tarleton who
is currently in grad school for edu-
cation administration, said. He is in
his sixth consecutive year of college
-and an assistant physical education
coach for Chamberlain Elementary.
Though faced with many de-
mands in the college environment,
you have some choice in your life-
style.
"Pace yourself, don't take too
many hours, take summers off if
you need to, and learn to relax so
that you don't stay overwhelmed,"
senior Lizzie Ruess said.
That is hard to remember in the
midst of the semester and looming
deadlines.
Senior Spanish major Melissa
Knowles recommended that a stu-
dent should "plan and prioritize ev-
ery little thing" to get it till done.
"You have so many projects and
responsibilities during your college
years — class work, bills, leadership
positions, a life. The key to getting it
all done is organization and sched-
uling," Knowles said. "You've got to
plan ahead for each semester's class
schedule way before it bears down
upon you so that you can plan work
and extracurricular activities around
it."
"We don't just have time, we
have to make time," Knowles add-
ed, sitting at a scholarship banquet.
"And that's especially hard when you
strive to keep up high grades too, not
just occupy a seat in the classroom.
It's a sacrifice of free time and thafs a
choice that students must make,"
College is a lesson in time man-
agement.
"To maintain healthy stress lev-
els, you must learn to manage your
free time," senior Student Govern-
ment member Keith Price said. "Take
time for zone out time, friend time,
and productive time, and keep them
all in balance; never let one take over
another,"
"If you don't make time to hang
out with friends or to relax, and
spend all your time working or in
books, you will get stressed out
quickly; if you spend too much time
hanging out, you will not get all of
your studies accomplished/' Price
said.
"A lot of kids get overwhelmed
because they put off studying for
tests until the last minute/' Holland
agreed. "If you study a little bit at
a time instead of the night before,
it would be easier on' a body But
then everyone has different learning
styles, I guess."
Holland's personal learning style
requires an established routine.
"I have a routine that fits in ev-
erything I need to get done, and
I stick to it/' Holland said. "Each
night I lay out the next day's clothes,
put the cereal box next to a spoon
and 'bowl on the
table, and make my
lunch for tomorrow.
Sunday is always
church and cleaning
day, and I never get
overloaded because I
go to bed at a decent
hour, around 10:00
or 10:15 p.m., always
after watching the TT ,T „ ,
weather." Happy. Holland ,
"I admit I have what they call 'seniority
right now!" Whitney Richter, senior in ag com
munications, said. "I think it comes when yoi
know the college journey is almost over. Onc<
you apply for graduation, thafs all you car
think about. You have to start worrying abou
so many other things like life after college th$
you can't completely focus on classes." ^
"But I just keep in mind the goals that I arr
striving towards/' Richter concluded. "DoinJ
that makes you able to bear whatever you art
presently doing to reach that goal." i
ENJOY COOL COLORFUL
COLORADO-SUMMER EMPLOYMENT
Fun Valley Family Resort in South Fork,
Colorado needs STUDENTS for full or part of
the 2007 season for all types of jobs:
Kitchen
Dinning Room
Housekeeping
Students live in the girl's or boy's dorm.
Horse Wrangler
Office
Stores Maintenence
For information and application's write:
Student Employment
Fun Valley Family Resort
6315 Westover Drive
Gran bury, TX 76049
Starving student?
Need a job?
Work for The j-TAC !
Pick up applications in the
Student Publications office on the lower
level of the Student Center, Room 20
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The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 173, No. 5, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 22, 2007, newspaper, February 22, 2007; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth142149/m1/4/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarleton State University.