{"id":1846,"date":"2025-02-12T09:51:09","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T14:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/?p=1846"},"modified":"2025-01-28T11:59:52","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T16:59:52","slug":"mcc-proud-meet-paul-seeburger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.monroecc.edu\/news\/2025\/02\/12\/mcc-proud-meet-paul-seeburger\/","title":{"rendered":"MCC Proud: Meet Paul Seeburger"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paul Seeburger is a Mathematics Professor at Monroe Community College (MCC) and has worked in the department since Fall 1998.<\/p>\n

Teaching wasn\u2019t his original career choice. \u201c\u2026all during high school I planned to be a computer programmer,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cI changed my mind halfway through college, when I realized I would rather work with people than just sit behind a computer all day.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time, Seeburger\u2019s father taught math at a community college in Michigan. \u201cI enjoyed the variety of experiences we were able to have as a family because of my dad\u2019s teaching career,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026I decided to follow in his footsteps.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Seeburger didn\u2019t automatically choose to pursue math as a result of his father\u2019s career.<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cI don\u2019t remember liking it much until algebra class when we began graphing curves like y = x3<\/sup>.\u00a0I thought it was really interesting that an equation specified something so visually interesting as a curve.\u00a0Ever since, it\u2019s been the graphical visualizations of mathematics that I have found most interesting and enjoyable.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Seeburger originally taught math at the high school level, he switched to community college students four years later. \u201cIt\u2019s been a lot of fun to be able to talk with my dad about teaching math!\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Something interesting happened after Seeburger began teaching at MCC. \u201cI began to use my interest in computer programming to create visualization apps to help my students better understand the geometric nature of the concepts I was teaching, especially in Calculus,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In fact, the \u201chobby\u201d has taken off and become the core of Seeburger\u2019s National Science Foundation grant projects. He has also received multiple Xerox STEM grants.<\/p>\n

Seeburger has received multiple awards during his time at MCC, including the 2010 ICTCM Award for Excellence & Innovation Using Technology in Collegiate Mathematics, in recognition of his project, Dynamic Visualization for Multivariable Calculus<\/em>. Other memorable honors include the 2011 MERLOT Classics Award for developing an outstanding, peer-reviewed online resource, Exploring Multivariable Calculus<\/em> and the 2015 NYS Mathematics Association of Two-Year Colleges Outstanding Contributions to Mathematics Education Award.<\/p>\n

When asked what advice he\u2019d give current or perspective MCC students, Seeburger said, \u201cDo your best to learn as much as you can in all your courses, ask lots of questions whenever you are unclear, and find people doing the job you are interested in doing and ask them all about their experiences. This will help you know if you can see yourself enjoying this career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside of MCC, Seeburger served as an adult leader in his son\u2019s Boy Scout troop from 2016-2023.\u00a0He also volunteers with his wife to teach a Sunday School class for kids (ages 3-4) at their church.<\/p>\n

Seeburger enjoys reading about history and learning\/practicing foreign languages.\u00a0While he is currently studying Spanish the most, he\u00a0enjoys listening to audiobooks in Spanish and German.<\/p>\n

\u201cI even took a Chinese 101 course at MCC back in 2015!\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Seeburger earned a B.S. in Mathematics at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, MI and earned an M.A. in Mathematics at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, MI.<\/p>\n

FUN FACTS ABOUT PAUL:<\/strong><\/p>\n