Mike Tveten

Everyone starts with an origin story and collects tons of other stories along the way. Like many educators, I followed a convoluted and meandering path, and the journey continues. After changing my mind about veterinary school, I ended up with a BS in wildlife science and an MS in entomology. Next came a half-hearted attempt at working on a PhD in entomology, which I gave up to take an insectary manager job at a “bug farm” that raised beneficial insects. (The best part of the job was meeting Lisa, the office manager, whom I married.) Then there were temporary research jobs involving mosquitoes (ouch!) corn earworms, honeybees (worse ouch!), predatory insects in alfalfa fields, and looking at moth brains with a laser confocal microscope. At the same time, I taught part-time at Pima Community College, in Tucson, AZ. After four years as an adjunct teacher, it finally sank in that teaching was far more rewarding than research, and I landed a full-time job teaching biology at Pima College in 1992. In 2021, I retired from full-time teaching – It is now time to just tell stories, and share the power of storytelling with other teachers, staff, and administrators. And of course, it is time for the hobbies -- fly fishing, canoeing, hiking, and playing electric bass. My wife and I live in our RV, traveling around the country. You can visit me at http://www.miketveten.com and http://www.imperativenarratives.com.