Business Faculty
Email: cspeers@np.edu
Phone: 501-760-4272
Associates of Science
Bachelor of Science in Education, Computer Science and Business Technology Education
Masters of Science in Computer and Information Science
I have had a love for technology from the young age of 18 months old. My parents have
told me I showed them how to do things on the computer when I was a small child (I
have no recollection of this). My sister's got the artistic gene and I got the math/science
gene that lends itself to the Computer Science field. I was homeschooled my whole
life. When I was 15, I started attending college courses at National Park Community
College. By the time I finished high school, I had 18 college credits under my belt.
At the time, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to eventually
work at National Park College (NPC). Even as a high school student, I loved my experience
at NPC, everyone seemed happy to be working there, and I wanted to work in a place
like that. When I became a full-time college student, I started taking computer science
courses just because I liked computers. I enjoyed these classes so much that I decided
to major in computer science. At the time, there was not a computer science (CS) degree
offered at NPC, so I just took some CS courses and completed my Associate of Science
at NPC.
I transferred to Henderson State University and took several computer science courses.
I expressed an interest in education to my advisor and he suggested I look into the
new degree, Computer Science and Business Technology Education. It was still in the
draft phase at that point, but I did it anyway. I earned a Minor in Computer Science
and majored in CS & Business Tech Education, becoming the first Computer Science Education
major in the state of Arkansas.
Soon after, I became the Computer Science Teacher at a local high school. I had great
experiences and learned a lot during that time. I taught high school classes for four
years. In 2021, I saw an opening for a computer science instructor here at NPC and
I had to take the chance--it was honestly my dream job. I'm happy to say working here
exceeded my expectations. NPC is a wonderful place to work and attend classes! I truly
love my job. I have a unique perspective as an NPC alum, a high school teacher, and
now a college instructor. This helps me understand situations from a variety of points
of view, and make fair judgments.
My teaching style is pretty straightforward. I avoid "fluff", try to explain things
as simply as possible and meet people wherever they're at. I often follow the "I do,
we do, you do" method of modeling and scaffolding--meaning I show you how to do something,
I guide you with me, and then I ask you to try it on your own, but then provide assistance
and feedback as needed. One of the main reasons I got into education in the first
place is because, quite frankly, it irritated me when someone taught something in
an overly-complicated, unhelpful way and I knew I could do it better (i.e. in a way
that people could more easily understand). My main goal is to help students learn,
get their degrees/certifications, and hopefully improve their lives overall.
