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| Tat Sang So wants his students to understand "how exciting the life of the mind is." Photo by Jason Andrade |
Tat Sang So was just a child when his family decided to leave Hong Kong and emigrate to the U.S.
As a three year-old in China, there was no way So could have foreseen a career teaching English in Denver. Now, as an assistant professor of 19th and 20th century American and British literature, he’s come to appreciate Metro State’s mission, and its students.
“Students who can’t go to a traditional school come here, and I appreciate those students,” So says. “It’s not easy, (but) they have determination and graduating is a really big accomplishment for them.”
So has been a part of Metro State since 1997, first as an affiliate member and now as a tenure-track assistant professor. Currently, he is involved in some of the most far-reaching programs in the College’s history, one of them being the Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) initiative. So, together with Institutional Research Coordinator Ellen Boswell, determined what subjects Metro State’s current Latino students were studying the most.
“The HSI initiative is fantastic,” he says. “It’s the most pro-active program that Metro has been a part of; we are planning for and welcoming the (Latino) students.”
So is also playing a lead role on the Faculty Evaluation (Pay for Performance, P4P) Committee. He says that because P4P holds professors accountable and addresses the historically low salary base that higher education offers, it is a step forward in reaching Metro State’s goal of preeminence.
“The (P4P initiative) addresses that as a college, we’ve evolved and we’re trying to live up to Dr. Jordan’s goal,” So says. “There is a large percentage of the faculty who are not as vocal but believe in the future of this college.”
So has also been involved with Asian Discovery Day, where he is able to relate with visiting students. He says that he sees himself in the crowd of students when he discusses the importance of the college experience.
He believes many times students tend to pigeonhole themselves in preparation for one career; he tells these students that “you should never feel limited by who you are and where you come from. In college, students have every opportunity to succeed, so they should be able to create their own lives.”
It’s this kind of philosophy that So communicates to his literature students. They need to understand how exciting the life of the mind is, and if students combine their intellectual mind with what makes them happy, he says, they will experience a higher level of thought and success.
His students need only to look at So for proof of this.
