Faculty Spotlight - Alys Hugo

What do you teach at EvCC?

I teach math courses, everything from algebra and arithmetic up through differential equations and linear algebra. 

Tell us a little about your professional background.

After graduating from Gonzaga University with a math and physics double-major, I worked at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for a year working as a research associate in the computational biology group. It was mostly statistics and programming. I decided it wasn’t “mathy” enough for me so I went to the University of Washington to get my master’s in math with the intention of going back to PNNL to work in their math group. But, as a grad student, you have to be a teaching assistant, and I discovered how much I loved teaching, so I started teaching part-time at Shoreline Community College and later joined EvCC as full-time faculty in the math department.

Why did you choose EvCC?

When I interviewed for my position at EvCC, I loved the campus and how the third floor of Rainier Hall is set up with all the math instructors on the same floor with classrooms and study areas for students in the middle. It felt like the perfect arrangement for collaboration among colleagues and students, and it is!

How has the pandemic affected you? How are you doing?

I’m very privileged to be sheltered from the economic impact of the pandemic in that I’m able to do my job from home and earn the same income I did before. I miss seeing my friends and family but I love being at home with my husband every day. He is taking four online classes at EvCC this quarter so we both spend a lot of time in front of our laptops!

How have you adapted your curriculum and teaching methods to support students who are learning from home?

I’ve done my best to recreate the same types of learning experiences student would get in my face-to-face classes in the online environment, but I’ve made all assignments “take-home,” where students have a week to complete them so that students with different responsibilities and schedules are free to work on the assignment at a time that is convenient for them. I’m not doing any timed exams because I don’t want students to have to stress about internet connection issues or distractions. (I’m really grateful that the course I’m teaching this quarter is well-suited for take-home tests and quizzes.)

What advice do you have for students who are taking online or livestream classes for the first time?

Make yourself a weekly schedule for what you want to get done each day. I started doing it myself this quarter to manage the work I have to do for teaching as well as for the Spanish course I’m taking, and it really helps. At first, you might find that you were a little too ambitious about what you can get done in a single day, but it’s better to find that out early and then you can adjust according. Also, if your instructor is having you do reading or watch videos to replace a face-to-face lecture, take notes just like you would have in a regular class! It will help you stay focused, retain the information, and give you a reference to use when studying later. 

What do you like to do for fun?

Exercise and draw. Before the gyms closed because of the pandemic, my husband and I would go workout every day. I even worked at a gym teaching group exercise classes. We do our best to keep exercising at home but weights are hard to come by these days. 

What is your favorite snack?

I’m not much of a snacker but my favorite treats always involve peanut butter, chocolate, or both! 

Anything else you’d like to add?

My photo is a bit staged. Yes, I work from my kitchen table but it’s usually much messier than that and I usually look a bit more unkempt myself. I usually only brush my hair for Zoom meetings. (I’m only mostly kidding.)