We are all well aware by now that life is filled with decisions to make. Some decisions may be difficult, while others may be easy. One decision that came easily to Alisa Hass, a lecturer recently added to the geography department staff, was the decision to teach at UW-Platteville.

Alisa Hass

“The geography department offers professors who are excited about their work support and research opportunities for students,” said Hass. “These departmental qualities, along with the small size of the university and overall happiness of the students, faculty and staff made choosing UW-P very easy.”

Before coming to UW-P, Hass taught physical geography laboratories and was a teaching assistant for classes in world regional geography and geography of Appalachia while working toward her Master of Science degree at the University of Tennessee. Upon completion of grad school, Hass took a job in the corporate world, but missed teaching and working one-on-one with students. Ultimately, she ended up at UW-P, where she teaches the lab component of planet earth. This lab is taught in conjunction with Evan Larson’s lecture component.
“I want my students to leave the class with a new respect and understanding for the world around them and hope they understand the relevance of this subject to their lives,” said Hass.

“Alisa is a wonderful colleague and is one of the most prepared instructors I know. She puts an immense amount of thought toward her lessons each week,” said Larson, assistant professor of geography. “She has a passion for what she teaches that shines through, and she brings a lot of little things to the course that help make planet earth go around.”

Hass said she feels very lucky to work with students on a one-on-one basis every day, and she hopes she can excite her students about the natural world and help them understand that each person can make a difference.