Steinhauer Shows Students Broad Spectrum of Life

Jacob Tucker, feature editor

Catherine Steinhauer provides a comfortable classroom for all students to enjoy.

She has traveled all over the world and lived in many cities throughout the United States.  Steinhauer was an Army brat during her childhood.  This meant that her father was constantly transferred to new jobs, moving the family along with him. 

“I was born in Trieste, Italy,” said Steinhauer, “but we also lived in the Philippines and all over the eastern coast of the United States.”

Her family finally stopped long enough in Baltimore, Maryland for her to complete high school.  Soon after high school, Steinhauer got married.

“I got married at much too young of an age,” said Steinhauer.  “Hopefully no one follows my example.”

She then gave birth to her first son Olen, who is now a writer in Europe.  Soon after, it was time for Steinhauer to begin her professional career, but not as a college professor.  She would change professions three more times before finally landing at SPC.

“I was in banking, and I worked my way up from a teller to a loan officer,” said Steinhauer.

After that job, Steinhauer began working in the retail business.  She worked on the sales floor of a women’s department store. 

“I was also a regional sales manager of a cookie and cracker company,” said Steinhauer.

She began her work there as a temporary employee.

“A great way to find a job is to work at a temp agency,” said Steinhauer.  “You figure out who you want to work for and who you really don’t want to work for.”

During her six-year stay with the company, Steinhauer held many different positions, including the honor of being the first female to be promoted to regional sales manager.

“I had a five-state sales area, so I traveled a lot,” said Steinhauer.  “I absolutely loved it.”

Her husband worked at a job for which he was transferred a lot, so she had to take a break from the working world and be a stay-at-home mom.  One thing that she found herself doing in her spare time was getting involved in the Parent Teacher Association.

“I have always been doing things and presenting stuff,” said Steinhauer, “even though I was not getting paid for it.”

She found herself traveling yet again.  The family of four, with the addition of Katrina and Ian, moved from Virginia, to Mississippi, to Georgia, and then to Dallas. 

“When we moved to Dallas, I realized that my marriage wasn’t going so well,” said Steinhauer, “and I also realized that I needed to re-educate myself.  I also figured out that when you get older, there is a need to get more education.”

Steinhauer divorced her husband and moved to Stephenville, Tex., where she also began attending Tarleton State University.  She began her studies as a nurse, but, due to her weak science skills, she later changed to social work. 

“I then realized that social work was not the job for me, even though I am a bleeding heart liberal,” said Steinhauer.  “I did not have what it took to be a whistle-blower, and I probably would have gotten fired a lot.”

She then took a sociology class at the university, and became hooked. 

“It just made sense,” said Steinhauer.  “I can see more than one side of an issue using sociological theory.”

Steinhauer also revived a dormant non-traditional student organization on the campus of TSU.  She saw the importance of having that organization on the campus for the other “older” students on campus.

“I knew that being a non-traditional student was hard,” said Steinhauer.  “I found out that I was a better student than I would be when I was 18 or 19.”

She graduated from TSU in 1998, and completed her master’s degree at Texas Tech University in 2000.

“I picked Tech because of the lower cost of living, but I got to stay in one building on the campus the entire time I was there,” said Steinhauer.

During graduate school, Steinhauer held many jobs in order to make ends meet as a single mother of two.  She was a professor’s assistant, a full-time student, and, in some cases, she held two other jobs.  Steinhauer taught a remedial reading class, a course to help students pass the TASP test, and she had to find the time to be a good mother to her two children.

Steinhauer was fortunate enough after graduation to receive a one-year teaching job from the university.  She accepted.  When the year was almost up, she heard of a job opening at SPC.

“I needed a place to stay long term,” said Steinhauer.  “I came and applied, interviewed, and did a demonstration lecture.”

She believes that what helped her out the most was her grad student work at Tech.

“I worked with a bunch of people who actually let me teach their class, and not just grade papers,” said Steinhauer.

Steinhauer sees teaching much like selling a product.  In order for students to learn a subject, you have to “sell” it in order to get the students enthused.

“In a few classes at Tech, I had professors who would come in, read their ‘script,’ and leave,” said Steinhauer.  “That is not teaching.”

Steinhauer sees herself as a regular person, rather than as a professor.  She has always had an ability to make people feel comfortable around her.

“I don’t know what it is, but people just seem to come out to me,” said Steinhauer. “Even when I was at Tech, I had people talking to me about their problems, and I like being that person.”

Steinhauer loves to teach because she likes to present a different view to the students.  She believes that is very important for students to see different points of view in order for them to gain a better scope of the world.

“Even though it is a gold star for me every time I get a compliment on my class,” says Steinhauer, “it is good for them, because their life is changed because of what I taught them.”

Steinhauer says she is constantly learning new things, re-evaluating herself, and changing what she teaches.  She urges students and adults alike to do the same.

“We are not alone in this world,” said Steinhauer.  “It is a big place out there, but there is not a problem with living in a small town.”

She believes that the knowledge that sociology provides students with is vital to their survival in the world.  Steinhauer says that it is not just an academic course, but a life course that will provide information to use for a lifetime.

“I realize that I can’t change the world,” says Steinhauer, “but if I can go and have a few people that change their view of the world, I have done my job.”