Get to know NFC's outstanding faculty.
At North Florida College, we are extremely proud of our faculty members. Enjoy getting to know our exceptional instructors and professors in NFC's monthly Faculty Spotlight.
Faculty Spotlight - March 2021
William "Bill" Eustace
NFC Professor, Advanced Manufacturing and Production Technology
Professional and Educational Background: I have a diverse and varied background in manufacturing. Having spanned a 35 plus year career in this field has allowed me to work in some pretty interesting environments. I was a machinist tool & Die maker while employed at Grumman aerospace building parts to blueprint specs for all of the aircraft carrier based aircraft for the U.S. Navy. After leaving Grumman I went to work for Fairchild Republic Aerospace and worked 7 years on the U.S. Air Force A-10 project.I am a certified welder, and have an A.S. degree in Engineering Design/Drafting from Delhi University part of the SUNY college system of New York state, and I am a Certified Detail Drafter. More recently I have been a plant operations manager at Nestle Waters in Lee Fl before becoming an instructor here at NFC.Why I Chose This Field of Study: I currently teach a PSAV program on campus called Advanced Manufacturing and Production Technology. I love this program as it lets me share all of my in field experience with students as I guide them through the course which has 14 different trainers and 2 class projects. While students are taking the program they have the opportunity for 4 assessment certification exams providing nationally recognized and portable credentials in the fields of Industrial Safety, Quality Control, Production Processes, and Maintenance. This program gives students all necessary skills and credentials for entry level into the manufacturing fields.
An Interesting Fact About Myself: I have been a musician for 40 years. I have played Blues Harmonica in over 15 different bands and have even done years ago studio work in New York city for a few commercials with harmonica backing tracks.
What I Love Most About Teaching: The thing I most love about teaching is the student interaction and witnessing the "ahhaaaa" moments as students begin to understand concepts of how major corporations function within the safety, production, and quality control fields and how those effect the cost of goods.
Innovative or Interesting Things I Do in My Courses: Some of the more interesting things we do are Robotic Programming, CNC Machining, Pneumatics, Hydraulics, 3D design Software , and 3D printing. Every student loves the mid term project that has them creating a part from a blue print out of aluminum bar stock, machining it to print and then redesigning it as a 3D printed part to run in the 3D printers. This is a highly interactive hands on project that students generally spend one week onto complete.
Faculty Spotlight - February 2021
Paula McCullers
NFC Associate Professor, English
Professional and Educational Background: I have an MA in English. I have been teaching English in some shape or form for over 20 years. I have taught 6th and 7th grade language arts, home-schooled my son, and have taught development reading and writing along with 1101/1102 here at NFC for the past 9 years.Why I Chose This Field of Study: I teach ENC 1101-Composition and ENC 1102-an intro to literature. While composition is not the "funnest" course to teach, I provide students with the tools they need to develop as competent college writers, and it gives me a sense of pride when students gain confidence and demonstrate the skills that will help them succeed in their college career. However, literature is the subject I truly enjoy teaching. I love seeing students discover timeless characters, explore the elements of various plots, and make real-life connections to the fictional relationships and conflicts in print.
An Interesting Fact About Myself: I taught English in Mexico.
What I Love Most About Teaching: I enjoy the intellectual engagement that comes from encouraging students to think for themselves and be able to "defend" their thoughts and opinions in various forms of discourse.
Faculty Spotlight - December 2020
Daniel Harris
NFC Math Professor
Professional and Educational Background: I got my BS and MA in Mathematics from Middle Tennessee State University. I taught at MTSU from 1988-1991 and came to NFC (then NFJC) in 1991.
Why I Chose This Field of Study: I teach Mathematics and chose to concentrate in Math because I felt that I was good at it, enjoy it, and think it’s a very important, applied subject.
An Interesting Fact About Myself: I’m a big fan of music, mostly British rock circa the early ‘90’s. I have a big CD/vinyl collection.
What I Love Most About Teaching: Getting through to some students that used to have a bad attitude toward Math.
Innovative or Interesting Things I Do in My Courses: I’ve had experience with almost every mode of instruction: face-to-face, hybrid, online, and video conferencing. I also utilize a good bit of technology in class. When I first began, we used chalkboards and handheld LED calculators!! We’ve come a long way!
Faculty Spotlight - November 2020
David Palomino
NFC Psychology Professor
Professional and Educational Background: I attended International Baptist Seminary in Colombia S.A. until 1986. Upon my arrival to the U.S.A. in 1987, I attended Florida State University where I completed a double major in psychology and sociology. I had the opportunity to further my education and I continued attending Florida State University achieving a master's degree in clinical social work. I worked in the mental health field for several years in hospitals and private organizations and with the help and encouragement of a mentor, a physician friend, I got a partial scholarship to further my education. I attended Capella University where I completed a Ph.D in family psychology.
Why I Chose This Field of Study: I teach General Psychology, Human Growth and Development, and Abnormal Psychology. I found fascinating human behavior and dynamics. Early in my career, I developed the interest in trying to understand dynamics surrounding behaviors. From my own family, teachers and those close to me, I received reinforcement to pursue the interest and inclination to invest time in listening, researching and trying to help others to reframe whatever issue they were facing.
An Interesting Fact About Myself: I am trained in Critical Incident Stress Debriefing and I have conducted crisis debriefing trainings in Colombia and Paraguay S.A. I was invited to Paraguay S.A. under the administration of president of Nicanor Duarte to conduct national campaigns for suicide prevention and mental health awareness. I served as spiritual leader for a Hispanic ministry in Valdosta Ga.
What I Love Most About Teaching: I believe awareness is power. Guiding students to implement new knowledge into their day-to-day life and become aware of what they do and why they do it is a discovery and empowering feeling that ultimately contributes to their academic and personal growth. Love to be part of that process!
Innovative or Interesting Things I Do in My Courses: The subjects that I teach offer plenty of opportunities for implementing the academic literature into real-life-situation. In psychology and abnormal psychology courses case studies are best practical way students are able to apply theories into real-life. Learning about the theoretical principles and then creating fictitious cases using those principles, gives students the freedom to use their creativity to develop "textbook case studies" while gaining personal awareness. Students also develop mental health sensitivity as they evaluate real life people and celebrities who suffer from mental illness. The human growth and development is a field of observation. Students complete descriptive research exercises where they report on what they see without having to directly interact with the person being observed. Again, theory becomes alive as they implement academic literature to support their observations. Intergenerational relations are critical to the field of human development. Students conduct life review interviews to the elderly. This exercise connects two generations, but it also helps both participants to fill the gap of "passing the history to a new generation and feeling that life has been worth living." The student gains knowledge of the elderly's life journey and hopefully gains insight into his/her own developmental process.
Faculty Spotlight - October 2020
Timothy Knickerbocker
NFC English Instructor
Professional and Educational Background: I graduated from the University of North Florida in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in French. I continued at UNF for my graduate work and graduated in 2012 with a Master of Arts in English literature. In 2014, I began teaching at Tallahassee Community College as an adjunct instructor, before coming to NFC for Spring 2019.
Why I Chose This Field of Study: I teach English, both writing and literature, though literature is my specialty. I initially chose to study literature, because I am a writer and avid reader. I believe in the importance and power of stories and storytelling, and I ultimately wanted to bring that to the classroom. There is a sort of universality of storytelling, something that connects everyone. I tell my students this, and it has continued to remind me why I study it.
An Interesting Fact About Myself: An interesting fact about myself is that I used to work for Disney. I first worked at a water park (where I met my wife), but I moved over to work at Magic Kingdom, where I was a ride operator for several rides including Dumbo and the Little Mermaid.
What I Love Most About Teaching: The thing I love most about teaching is helping my students see the world from a different perspective. I love when students have a moment of realization or a moment of quiet contemplation when it comes to some new concept, or when they are looking at something familiar in a different way.
Innovative or Interesting Things I Do in My Courses: In all of my courses, I deliberately try to expose my students to diverse voices. I actively choose readings for my students from interesting people and voices that are unfamiliar, and I deliberately try to expose them to contemporary voices like Zadie Smith, Kelly Link, or Neil Gaiman. I want them to be aware of the fact that literature is more than just a bunch of boring dead white guys, and that writings that are important can also be interesting. I designed my course on graphic novels with this in mind. I wanted my students to see that comic books, even ones about superheroes, could say something important.