Timothy Knight, a 2011 grad from Wheeling, West Virginia, major in Spanish and International Affairs.
Knight chose Muskingum because he valued its small size and the liberal arts education he would receive. He says, “I was able to forge meaningful relationships with my classmates and professors which enhanced my learning experience in ways that I am not sure would have been possible at larger schools. The liberal arts aspect was very important to me as well due to the fact that it allowed me to pursue many different intellectual avenues that led me to the majors I ended up earning. When I arrived at Muskingum my freshman year, I was thinking of majoring in Political Science and going to Law School. My experiences at Muskingum showed me that there might be another set of majors that would better suit my academic and professional interests. This is one of the most attractive aspects of Muskingum for me. By its very nature, it allows its students to cultivate themselves with the help of an excellent faculty and discover what academic area will best serve them and help them to grow intellectually.”
After graduating in 2011, Knight moved to Spain and spent two years teaching English at the Universidad de Castilla-la Mancha, a university with which Muskingum has an exchange program. In 2013, Knight moved back to the US and began work on a Master of Arts in Hispanic Studies at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, which he completed in 2015.
In August 2015 Knight began working as a Spanish teacher and soccer coach at The Phelps School, an all-boys boarding school in Malvern, PA. He currently teaches three levels of Spanish courses and is the varsity soccer coach.
In addition to learning from dedicated faculty across the liberal arts curriculum, Knight also learned “the value of working within the parameters of a team in order to achieve a collective goal” as a member of the soccer team. He adds, “The lessons that I learned on the soccer team have helped me countless times both personally and professionally over the past five years.”
Knight took full advantage of all that Muskingum has to offer, working at WMCO 90.7 and choosing to study abroad – on four different continents! – as an undergrad. (He visited Guyana on a service trip with the late Coach Donna Newberry, studied intensive Spanish in Córdoba, Argentina, spent a semester in Toledo, Spain and spent winter break in Australia and New Zealand.)
Knight wants graduating seniors to know that they don’t have to have everything figured out when they leave Muskingum. “I fell in love with teaching while living in Spain through the exchange program that Muskingum has the university there. I hadn't majored in Education. Now I couldn't see myself doing anything else. Opportunities will present themselves, and your interests and goals might change. Allow yourself to be flexible.”