Three new professors come to the Woodland campus

As Woodland Community College keeps on growing, its classroom needs are being met by the hiring of 3 full time teachers.

Hanan Souki is a new full time member of the math department teaching classes that range from Math 110 to Calculus.

Professor Souki received her B.S. degree in mathematical science from the University of Memphis in Tennessee as well as an M.S. in applied math through U.C. Davis.

She explains that originally, she wanted to be a pediatrician, but she started tutoring and saw how much she enjoyed teaching others. “I’ve always enjoyed helping people. I know that math is an area many students struggle with,” says Professor Souki. “It’s enjoyable to teach students new concepts which may seem difficult or even overwhelming and breaking down the problems for them. It’s so great to hear students say, ‘Oh, I get it!'”

“Woodland Community College is definitely a place to come if you want to get personal attention in your education and where you won’t get lost in the crowd; students don’t go unnoticed here,” says Professor Souki.

Her advice to students is to work as hard as possibly can and never give up. “The road to getting a degree may seem long but time passes. Having a degree will always payoff.” Professor Souki who wants all her students to succeed and come to her when they need help.

Besides teaching, Professor Souki likes running, being outdoors, playing and walking with her Chihuahua dog and participating in her church group.

Jennifer McCabe has taught at the Marysville campus for the past year and is now joining W.C.C full time. She will be teaching primarily geology, geography, and earth science.

Professor McCabe started her education at Foothill Community College then transferred to U.C Davis obtaining a B.S. in geology and eventually earning a Masters degree in geophysics. She came into teaching because she felt passion for it and wanted to empower her students with knowledge.

“Teaching is a job where you don’t have to work; you instead get to spend all day explaining cool stuff to people: I love it,” says McCabe.

Before teaching, she worked at Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo in which she got to take care of animals and teach the guests coming to the zoo.

Eventually she decided to come back to teaching both at Sacramento State and U.C Davis, but she wanted to teach at a junior college and come back to her roots.

She enjoys joining the faculty and staff here because they are dedicated to the success of the students, as well as being excited that our campus is becoming independent. “The students are great, the faculty and staff are friendly and dedicated to the success of the students.”

Besides her job at WCC, she teaches and practices the martial art Hapkido with her husband, in which she practices her tenets of courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, and indomitable spirit. She also loves anything that involves the outdoors.

Sheryl Shook has taught as an adjunct professor at W.C.C for the past year and has now been hired as a full time teacher, offering courses in human physiology and anatomy. Dr. Shook received her B.S. in engineering from Cal Poly and a Doctorate degree in neuroscience from U.C. Davis.

Before joining our campus she worked at Sacramento City College also as an adjunct professor, she has worked at the space station in Huntington Beach as an engineer and has worked with a neurosurgery team and with Parkinson’s disease patients.

In addition to her impressive resume, Dr. Shook and a colleague have written a book, “Herbs and Nutrients in Neurological Disorders,” about integrated medicine, explaining how patients can combine nutrition and supplements with western medicine treatments.

“I have had some enjoyable and interesting jobs but none of them have been as satisfying and meaningful as teaching at the community college,” says Dr. Shook. She seems passionate and excited to work with our school. “The faculty here cares about the students; they’re willing to take time and nurture students.” She believes that students should stay true to what they want to accomplish and what they care about.

Besides teaching, Dr. Shook is married and has a delightful daughter. She enjoys anything that has to do with the outdoors and enjoys traveling all over the world and learning about new cultures.