Profile piece: Professor Tyler Daniels
by Grace Rufo
At Cape Cod Community College, students are lucky enough to have some of the most intelligent and dedicated professors in the game. Within this category of professors, falls professor Tyler Daniels. Daniels teaches a plethora of communication courses here at the college. All the way from learning the basics of Human Communication, to the ins and outs of media and society, and even a touch of the virtual world and how it ties into our everyday lives. If you’re lucky enough to take one of his courses, get ready to be engulfed in a fun, passionate, and unique learning environment.
Daniels might work and reside on Cape Cod however; he is actually a Pennsylvania native. He moved here three and a half years ago to teach, making super bowl 52, “the most awkward time of his career.”
“I felt like I could have a bigger impact teaching full time rather than as an adjunct.” Daniels explained, when asked why he wanted the job here at 4Cs.
“I felt as though there were a lot of ways in which my talents could be utilized.” said Daniels.
When asked what his favorite part about teaching is, Daniels replied that from “Time to time, we are going to meet people that have a profound impact on the direction that our lives take. I like teaching because I like knowing I could be that person for someone.” Everyone does seem to have this person in their lives!
Before becoming the popular 4Cs professor he is today, Daniels’s first professional teaching career was actually in Korea. When asked what made him want to teach abroad, Daniels told us that it was actually a mistake on his academic advisor’s part.
“Basically, my academic advisor messed up my graduation date.” said Daniels, causing him to miss all of the deadlines to apply for graduate school.
“I was scrambling to find something to do, I knew a guy in the Asian affairs office, he put me in touch with some people, and I ended up in Korea for two years. That was my first professional teaching experience.” said Daniels. He then warned his students to make sure they all have good advisors. At CCCC, we are lucky enough to have caring and receptive academic advisors.
Outside of the college, Daniels enjoys gaming. He enjoys spreading “fear and terror as online personas…”. He is also a writer, dabbling in mostly science fiction and fantasy. He informed us that pre-pandemic, he enjoyed going to the gym and working out. Overall, Daniels enjoys keeping himself active and engaged outside of his teaching career.
Daniels offers a “Survey of Mass Communication” course here at the college. This is where students interested in media and gaming alike can come together to learn more about the digital realm we live in today.
When asked for one piece of advice Daniels would give college students today, he told the Mainsheet that he would like students to, “Stay open minded: don’t feel as though you have to have your life figured out by the end of the week. Be true to yourself, your interests, and the road will eventually reveal itself to you.”
Most college students would agree that the pressure to have it all figured out is a mutual, lingering feeling they must constantly battle. This piece of advice seemed to really resonate with Daniels’s class, as all of his students shared a collective head nod of agreement.
As previously mentioned, Daniels offers a plethora of communications and communication-like courses at the college. If you are looking for a fun and uniquely educational class experience, many students would recommend his courses across the board!
Categories: Professors, People