FACULTY AND STA By Tara Roberts
in this field, which is all your stuff you’re interested in, if you get a PhD,” he said. While completing his doctorate at Nebraska, he began lecturing at Central in 2008.
On Being Non-Traditional: “Non-traditional students and students from low-asset backgrounds are in a very difficult situation because they’re the diplomats between two worlds. … You’re kind of caught between opposing cultures and you don’t want to not be accepted, and so you’re always balancing this line between two worlds that ignore the fact that the other one exists—on top of trying to pay for it.” On Higher Education: “The most fascinating people are people who are coming from somewhere else and trying to get somewhere else, and I think that’s really what higher ed - ucation is—not about certifications, but bringing somebody where they want to go.” Dr. Fabio Ambrosio Associate professor, Department of Accounting CWU-Des Moines Center
First-generation and non-traditional students in the College of Business aren’t on their journey alone—several faculty and staff members have walked in their shoes. These three mentors’ unconventional paths help them guide students with compassion and understanding. Dr. Bill Provaznik Associate professor, Department of Management Director, Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship versity of Nebraska–Lincoln. After several years as a non-tra - ditional student, he earned a bachelor’s in mathematics. Path to Professor: Provaznik continued his atypical path, working as a bricklayer, an analyst at the South Korean con - sulate, and a ceramics importer. He taught himself Russian and volunteered to translate for Bosnian refugees. Finance caught his attention while he was a stockbroker and product developer at TD Ameritrade, and he finished an MBA while leading a manufacturing company. He didn’t plan to contin - ue his education further, but a professor convinced him. “She said, ‘You could read all day long and teach a little bit and study the things that are fascinating, and you can teach College Experience: Provaznik struggled to afford college, starting and stopping his undergraduate education at the Uni-
College Experience: Ambrosio left his home in southern Italy at 16, working in hotels around Europe while finishing high school. When a mentor offered to pay his college application fee, he went for
it—though he’d never used a computer before. He received a scholarship to Brigham Young University. Ambrosio was an excellent student in Europe but struggled to translate his skills to classes taught in English. “English was a foreign language. It was really hard to learn things in a foreign language, and it left me with a sense of frustration,” he said.
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