“I do this for my students, it’s not about the money.... As soon as things go back to normal, I’m opening things up again.”

 

Carl Bailey is a 60-year-old military veteran who is now a college professor at Southwestern College. Residing in Imperial Beach, Carl has a passion for teaching students criminal justice. With COVID-19 in the way of him getting to interact with students the way he wants to, he tries his best everyday to make his lectures interactive and fun. A man who has jumped out of airplanes, Carl states that COVID-19 has not scared him as it has other people. He does understand the pros and cons of this pandemic, and continues to stay optimistic while keeping everyone in mind. 

 

With the guidance from his peer and former Southwestern Professor, Gary Guthrie, he decided to become a professor of Criminal Justice. Gary motivated Carl to become a professor for Criminal Justice due to Carl’s active love for teaching young students about things that will actively stimulate their mind. He has a passion for making sure students are being active and are understanding of the world around them.

 

How COVID-19 has affected Carl is through his teaching. He had to navigate and adjust his usual hands on teaching. He had to learn how to use technology, and how to teach students through a computer screen. Most of the things he teaches students would be better off learned hands on in an environment where he can be actively involved with his students learning. COVID-19 itself has not scared Carl in the slightest, but he understands how the pandemic has affected everyone's lives differently.

 

Carl would love for everything to go back to normal. Once he opens his business back up, he states that he will open it back up in a way where everyone is comfortable. He wants everyone to understand that students are his world, and he enjoys being able to still have some sort of communication with his students. Being 60, Carl knows that he can quit teaching and do another more mellow job, but he does this for his community.