With his love for literature, radio, and sports, Andy Brown ’97 is a man of many passions.
Analyzing both Homer and home basketball games is all in a day’s work for Brown, lecturer in English for Hillsdale College and sportscaster for WCSR. When the college needed additional teachers for Great Books classes in Spring 2013, Brown brought his passion for teaching to the college.
“They were able to make a schedule for me that fit what I could do, and accommodate me that way,” Brown said. “When that worked out, I was in and excited to try it.”
In addition to teaching evening classes at the college, Brown spends his day teaching students at Camden-Frontier, where he teaches high school English courses and introductory composition courses for Jackson College.
Although Brown stated that balancing his teaching jobs can be difficult, he said the task has grown easier over time.
“It’s very challenging just from a time standpoint,” Brown said. “Now that I’ve taught the courses multiple times, it’s easier because I’ve prepared the courses and I don’t have to study quite as much as I did the first year. It is challenging, but it’s definitely worth it.”
This extra effort has not gone unnoticed by his students, such as sophomore Mary Dorroh, who enrolled in both of Brown’s Great Books classes.
“Professor Brown’s teaching style is very conducive to discussion. He really focuses on fostering a discussion with the class,” Dorroh said. “He asks a lot of interesting questions and lets the whole class feed off of each other’s ideas, and it’s just really good.”
A lifelong Hillsdale resident, Brown attended Camden-Frontier Schools while growing up, and graduated from Hillsdale College in 1997.
Associate Professor of English Debi Belt said she still remembers Brown’s time as a college student.
“He was a thoughtful, funny, energetic and smart kid,” Belt said. “He was a thoughtful student, and one who enjoyed both extracurricular activities and the material he was reading for class.”
Belt recalled a story from when Brown was in her class that she still tells her students today, in which Brown asked whether the use of first person pronouns was acceptable for papers.
“I remember Andy coming up after class and asking, ‘Do we use I in this class?’ and I said ‘yeah, why?’ and he said, ‘Because I used it in Sundahl’s class, and I got busted!’” Belt said. “I still remember that because it was so funny and so perfect. When students ask me anymore about using I, I tell that story, because he said it better than I could.”
After obtaining his master’s degree in English from Western Michigan University, Brown teaches at the same schools where he first learned to analyze literature.
“I’m proud to be back. This is the department I went through,” Brown said. “To even get to teach here part-time is an honor for me. I really mean that. It drives me to work really hard so I can live up to the standard that all of my professors had when I was here. It’s a high standard, so it’s a lot of work, but it’s definitely worth it.”
Along with his love of literature, Brown also enjoys sporting events as both a coach and sportscaster. He has coached high school football in varying capacities for 13 years at Camden-Frontier, and watches his fifth and seventh-grade sons’ games. He also hosts “Time Out with Andy Brown” on 92.1 FM for WCSR, and covers play-by-play for Hillsdale College football and basketball games. He first started working for WCSR as a college student, 21 years ago, while covering college sporting events.
“Radio is my lifelong passion,” he said. “I started at WCSR when I was a student here. Greg Corombos and I were the first people to do Hillsdale College sports on the local cable access station through Hillsdale College. I used that experience to segway into the job at WCSR. So I really got my start in broadcasting here.”
Despite the apparent challenge of managing jobs in broadcasting and teaching, Brown stated that his enjoyment of his work helps to make everything doable.
“The thing that makes it doable is that I love this stuff. I love working with students, I love students, I love teaching. That’s not work for me, that’s what I love to do,” he said. “When you’re doing those things that you’re passionate about, it’s all enjoyable, and it’s all something you feel good about doing every day.”
