Day: January 25, 2021

Ski – Score – Spike! Student Athletes at Michigan Tech

The 2019-2020 Women’s Basketball team at Michigan Tech. Core Values: Integrity. Passion. Appreciation. Unity.

Three Michigan Tech Head Coaches and Athletic Director Suzanne Sanregret generously shared their knowledge on Husky Bites, a free, interactive Zoom webinar hosted by Dean Janet Callahan. Here’s the link to watch a recording of their session on YouTube. Get the full scoop, including a listing of all the (60+) sessions at mtu.edu/huskybites.

Ski – Score – Spike! What are you doing for supper tonight 1/25 at 6 ET? Grab a bite with Dean Janet Callahan and three fantastic head coaches for the Michigan Tech Huskies: Tom Monahan Smith (Nordic), Sam Hoyt (women’s basketball) and Matt Jennings (volleyball). Joining in will be Suzanne Sanregret, Michigan Tech’s Director of Athletics. 

Student athletes at Michigan Tech are high academic achievers. How? What’s it like to be both an athlete and a student at Michigan Tech? 

During Husky Bites, they’ll describe a day in the life of a Michigan Tech athlete, talk about recruiting, academic/mental wellness, and more—including how Michigan Tech athletes and (and their coaches) cope with COVID-19 challenges, too. 

Tom Monahan Smith is head coach of the Nordic ski teams and assistant coach with the cross country teams at Michigan Tech.

Tom Monahan Smith, Head Coach, Nordic Skiing, Michigan Tech

A native of Bend, Oregon, Monahan Smith came to Houghton after serving as the Head Postgraduate Program Coach of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation in Ketchum, Idaho. 

Monahan Smith was a gold medalist in the freestyle sprint at the U.S. Junior Nationals in 2007 as well as being a six-time Junior All-American. He was also a prolific skier in high school, claiming the Oregon High School Nordic State Champion title three times. And he comes from a skiing family with his parents, brother, sister, and cousins all racing at the collegiate level.

Monahan Smith graduated from the University of Utah in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental and Sustainability Studies and also a bachelor’s degree in International Studies.

Read more:

Houghton-Bound: Tom Smith Hired as Michigan Tech Nordic Coach

Matt Jennings became the seventh volleyball coach in Michigan Tech history in 2012.

Matt Jennings, Head Coach, Volleyball, Michigan Tech

Jennings is also an instructor for the Department of Kinesiology and Integrated Physiology. He is currently teaching Sports Psychology and has taught various co-curricular courses for the department. He currently represents the GLIAC on the NCAA Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) for the Midwest Region and is a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

Before making the move to the U.P., Jennings served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Pittsburgh.

Jennings earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and political science from Augustana College (Illinois) in 2003 and received his master of business administration (MBA) from St. Ambrose in 2006.

Read more:

Jennings Hired to Lead Volleyball Program

Suzanne Sanregret has been Michigan Tech’s athletic director since 2005.

Suzanne Sanregret, PhD, Athletic Director, Michigan Tech

Her vision within the Huskies’ athletic programs and work on conference and national committees has positioned Michigan Tech as a leader in collegiate athletics.

A veteran of working within Michigan Tech athletics, Sanregret started in 1993 in the equipment room. She moved to business manager, then to compliance coordinator, and finally to assistant athletic director for business and NCAA compliance prior to taking over as athletic director.

Sanregret attended Michigan Tech and graduated in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She finished her master’s degree in business administration at Tech in spring 2006 and was inducted into the Michigan Tech Presidential Council of Alumnae in 2007. In March 2017, she completed her doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Phoenix.

Read More:

Q&A with Diversity Award Winner Suzanne Sanregret

Sam Hoyt became the ninth head coach of the Michigan Tech women’s basketball program in 2018.

Sam Hoyt, Head Coach, Women’s Basketball, Michigan Tech

Hoyt returned to Michigan Tech from the University of Sioux Falls where she served as an assistant coach. 

She earned a BS in Math at Michigan Tech in 2013. As a student, Hoyt was a standout player for the Huskies, helping lead the program to the 2011 NCAA Division II National Championship game as well as garnering multiple individual awards, including All-American Honorable Mention honors

Coach Hoyt, how did you first get into coaching? What first sparked your interest?

I have been a basketball fan ever since I could walk!  My dad was a coach growing up, so I was in the gym all the time.  Our family is really competitive, so I loved that about basketball.  I’ve also always had an inclination to help others learn and grow, and coaching basketball has given me the opportunity to develop a variety of areas in the young ladies lives that I get the pleasure to work with.

Q: What did you want to do when you graduated high school?

A: I was going to be a math teacher so I could coach basketball. All the coaches I knew growing up were teachers. Coach Barnes reached out to me about a graduate assistant position at Youngstown after I graduated from Tech, and I thought that was a great opportunity because all I really wanted to do was coach basketball. All the doors have opened for me, and I’m blessed with how it’s played out.

Hometown, Hobbies, Family?

I was born and raised in Arkansaw, Wisconsin. I went to school at Michigan Tech and have now been coaching here for 3 years.  I live about 5 miles from campus with my golden retriever, Remi.  We love to go on hikes and enjoy the beauty of the UP!

#Believe

Coach Sam Hoyt, Michigan Tech

Read more:

Q&A: Home Court Advantage


Dean’s Teaching Showcase: Trever Hassell

Trever Hassell
Trever Hassell

College of Engineering Dean Janet Callahan has selected Trever Hassell, Senior Lecturer in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) for week two of the Deans’ Teaching Showcase. Callahan selected Hassell for his strong engagement of students in large classes. In one student’s words, he “has done an excellent job providing world-class teaching even in the midst of the pandemic and the shift to online learning. He continues to lecture on the important course material while trying out ideas to encourage student interaction outside of the lecture setting.”

For his large section remote course, Hassell has been adapting iClicker questions used in previous semesters (pre COVID-19) for use with Reef (or iClicker Cloud). Simultaneously, he has been expanding his question bank. Implementation of the iClicker Cloud software during the Michigan Tech FLEX initiative allows Hassell to engage and stimulate student learning during lectures and receive real-time feedback regarding whether students are mastering the learning objectives of the course. Lecture iClicker questions are posted prior to the lecture for students to review in advance. During the lectures the iCloud clicker app is used for polling students, taking a screenshot question on the lecture computer screen and sending it to the students’ Reef app or mobile device webpage. Students respond to the question and their information is provided in real-time to the instructor. Class response results are then viewed, shared, and discussed. Utilizing the iClicker Cloud software has also allowed for uninterrupted course participation even as students have had to switch from remote to face-to-face modes. “Using technology to engage students keeps the Zoom sessions productive, helping students focus on understanding the material”, said Dean Callahan.

Having more than eight years of experience with “online/blended” courses, Hassell continually refines his online delivery. It is no surprise that pivoting to the FLEX mode of instruction presented him with an opportunity, rather than a burden. He found that transitioning from a touchscreen laptop using the ZoomIt app, which had a granular screen annotation resolution limitation, to a Windows Surface Pro and annotating with Microsoft OneNote vastly improved the annotation resolution, increasing student engagement in virtual activity. Interim ECE Chair Glen Archer said, “Trever has always been an experimenter and early adopter in the classroom. He’s always on the lookout for new tools and techniques that will make life in the classroom better.” In addition, Hassell has made course structural changes allowing for greater flexibility in the weekly assignments, course participation, and exams addressing student accommodations under COVID. Hassell gives students a choice, allowing participation by either synchronous iClicker questions or asynchronous communications within lecture discussions. As another student noted, “His courses are always very neatly organized, and his posting of lecture notes before our Zoom lectures each week has certainly helped. Mr. Trevor Hassel also encourages much-needed discussion both during and outside of lecture.”

Hassell has actively taken advantage of professional training and development opportunities. The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) has been a vital resource and asset for information and advice. Attending several of the CTL’s lunch and learn workshops played a key role in helping him integrate available tools and strategies into the classroom environment. And students appreciate it. As another student commented, “Being in Mr. Hassell’s class in Power Electronics has been a very enjoyable experience. He was always available and even though I took the class in the middle of the pandemic, I felt like we were in the same room with him all along.”

Hassell will be recognized at an end-of-term event with other showcase members, and is also a candidate for the CTL Instructional Award Series (to be determined this summer) recognizing introductory or large-class teaching, innovative or outside the classroom teaching methods, or work in curriculum and assessment.