Behind the Syllabus: Jennifer Erkulwater

Jennifer Erkulwater

What do you do on the weekends?

I have three boys, ages six, three and almost one. On weekends, I live the soccer mom "dream"-- going to soccer games, cooking meals, doing laundry, cleaning the house, going to church, etc. In between, I play with the boys. I often feel that the work week has more "quiet time" than the weekends.

What's the craziest thing you did when you were in college?

Pretended to be a hard-core Republican and got into the Republican National Committee election night party in 1994. I tend to be pretty liberal, but I wanted to see what it would be like at Republican headquarters on the eve of what I knew would be an historic election.

What's one thing your students would never guess about you?

During my senior year of high school, I was bored with all my classes and decided I couldn't take it anymore. I had always been fairly talented at drawing, and thought I'd quit school and make a living as an artist. Thankfully, through serendipity, I ended up at Rhodes College and found my true calling.

If you could take a year off to do anything, what would you do?

Take my husband and sons traveling through northern Thailand and the Philippines so that they could learn about my side of the family.

What's your favorite college memory?

I met my husband in college, and my favorite memory has to be the first time he and I saw each other. All the stuff people say about love at first sight--it's not true. We didn't actually get to know each other until years later, but we both do remember that first moment.