Professor diversifies teaching with multiple degrees
Brian Haenchen
-Staff Writer-
Christaan Eayrs may teach only mass communication classes at STLCC-Meramec, but his academic degrees cover a wide range of subjects.
“I have always been interested in sharing information. I just like that idea,” Eayrs said. “And I didn’t know it was through journalism and mass communication early on.”
Eayrs is well-versed in a variety of subjects within the field of mass communications. He has a certificate in radio/television broadcasting from Brown Institute in Minneapolis, a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Missouri Western State University and a master’s degree in mass communication and media studies from Bowling Green State University.
Before joining the faculty at Meramec, Eayrs worked at radio stations in Minnesota and Iowa and was a teacher in Ohio, Texas and Illinois university.Growing up, Eayrs always had an interest in the distribution of information, but it was not until he started working at his college’s radio station that he realized journalism and mass communications was the field for him.
As a freshman at University of Minnesota-Duluth, Eayrs found his calling while hosting Thursday night jazz program on KUMD, a public radio station on the campus.
“I feel kind of silly listening to [tapes of my old broadcasts],” Eayrs admitted with a grin. “I was a 19-year-old kid trying to be a jazz DJ, but at the time, it was really invigorating and it felt really cool, being on the air. It was always great when somebody would call, [because that meant] people were actually listening and that was very fulfilling.”
In fact, Eayrs enjoyed radio so much that he left UMD and enrolled in a one-year radio/television certificate program at Brown Institute in Minneapolis. Upon receiving his certificate, he started job hunting.
“I just started sending out tapes around and this little station in Iowa hired me to work overnights from 10 p.m. 6 a.m. in the mornings,” Eayrs said. “It wasn’t too far from home so I figured I’d give it a try.”
As assistant program director at KXIA in the 90s, Eayrs had the priviledge to interview country music superstars such as Reba McEntire, as well as the Dixie Chicks. However, there was one artist that stood out in his mind as the most memorable.
“Faith Hill,” Eayrs said proudly as he leaned back in his chair. “I was so excited to meet Faith Hill. I’ve got pictures with her. I mean, they’re kind of embarrassing that I’m in them but it’s proof that I actually met this person.”
His time in Iowa helped Eayrs realize that he preferred the behind-the-scenes work to being an on-air personality, so he enrolled at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Mo., and in 1999, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communication studies with an emphasis in public relations.
“I didn’t feel like an on-air future was in the cards, but kind of doing all those things around it,” Eayrs said. “So, I got my bachelor’s in public relations and they’re definitely related. They’re all about sharing information, conveying information, so in that way they all kind of go together and blend together.”
It was as a graduate student at Bowling Green University that Eayrs discovered a unique way to fulfill his interests in sharing information while helping others.
“[Teaching] was something that if you ever would have asked me, even in college, would this be something you would ever do? I would have said no,” Eayrs said. “But I really enjoyed it and I really enjoyed sharing. It all sort of goes back to broadcasting. I really liked sharing information and this was another way.”
After graduating from Bowling Green, Eayrs accepted a job teaching mass communications at Texas A&M in 2005.
“I got offered some jobs very close to Bowling Green, a couple of universities real close by where I knew a lot of the people,” Eayrs said, “but I got offered this job in Texas and I thought, I’ve never lived in Texas, I’ve never been there, what a great chance to go do something different.”
Collegue Randy Ray and Eayrs taught multiple classes together, but there was one in particular that stood out to Ray.
“It was called media design. Students were required to design a website, making it very media-rich [with] video and audio on it. It was basically a portfolio class for them,” Ray said. “Christaan would pull in some of his expertise in the writing part and the web design part and I would bring in my expertise with the audio and video production. So, we came together and it was quite a good class.”
While the class itself was required for undergraduate students, Eayrs and Ray both volunteered to teach the class, because they work well together as teachers, according to Ray.
“The reason I volunteered for it was just for the opportunity to work with him, because he is such a pleasant person to work with. He really cares about his students,” Ray said.
In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Eayrs also served as the faculty advisor for the school’s newspaper, The Prairie.
“It was a great job that I had never thought I would have. I didn’t have a huge history in print,” Eayrs said.
While many of his students have gone on to careers in broadcasting, Andrea DeLeon, who was an editor for The Prairie under Eayrs, was inspired to choose a different career path.
“He’s kind of mentored me, not just through college, but after college,” Eayrs former student Andrea DeLeon said. “I had a really hard time after college deciding what I wanted to do. I think it’s kind of funny that I ended up as an advisor after having Christaan as an advisor. Really looking up to him for what he did for me inspired me to want to go into that field and work in higher education.”
While he enjoyed his time in Texas, Eayrs’ parents, sister and newborn nephew had just moved to Illinois.
To enable himself to spend more time with his family, he moved back to the Midwest, taking a job at Benedictine College in Illinois before ultimately applying for the job opening at Meramec.
“I worked at Benedictine University for a year, then was lucky enough to see the job opening for here and thought this would be a great opportunity because I really enjoy teaching and that’s really my passion,” Eayers said before taking a brief pause. “I love the mission of the community college, specifically St. Louis Community College; the faculty here and their focus, which is serving the students.”
