Dr. Gretchen Pierce
Dr. Pierce is Professor of History. She leads the Reach Out service-learning project in the Dominican Republic and teaches the related upper-division Honors seminar.
All About Dr. Pierce!
Q: Do you have any pets?
A: Darci, a greyhound, she'll be 11 in May. Picture attached.
Darci
Q: What is your favorite at-home hobby? Do you have any musical, artistic, athletic, or intellectual pursuits that students might not expect?
A: My two main ways to unwind are by reading fiction and exercising. I teach Zumba but I also take yoga and Pilates classes on a regular basis. In the future, I may also get certified to teach Shine (another dance fitness class) and Barre.
Q: Do you have any wisdom to share about staying sane in a situation such as this?
A: I am an introvert so I'm not finding (short term) social distancing too hard. My big issue is anxiety attacks about disease and death and long term changes to my way of life. But every time I spiral into a pit of worry, I talk to my husband who has the opposite personality as me. And he tells me about all the good news he's heard or stories of people being kind and heroic, and those things cheer me up.
Q: What do you miss most about being on campus?
A: In spite of being an introvert, I do miss face to face interactions with my students. I'm not doing Zoom, but rather, prerecorded lectures that students can follow at their own pace. And my jokes just don't seem quite as funny without anyone to react to them 😝
Q: What type of music do you listen to the most? Do you have any band/singer/song recommendations?
A: As a Zumba instructor and a Latin Americanist, I love anything Latin, whether serious or fun. I also have both serious and fun tastes in English-language music, as well. Recommendations really are easier to give if you know what someone is looking for.
Q: What movie / TV shows have you been watching lately?
A: I never have much time for TV, so my husband and I always seem to be "catching up" on one show or another. Right now we're catching up on Westworld, season 3. We only watched one episode so far, and only have time for one per week, if that, so no spoilers, please!