Professor Michael Beihl, or “Mr. Michael” as he is known by his English as a Second Language (ESL) students, is retiring after 35 years at MCCC.
Professor Beihl began his career at the college in the spring of 1986 working in the Testing Center. He was noticed for his ability to make students feel comfortable before tests and was invited by Dr. Virginia Mezzi to teach his first ESL class. She was the ESL coordinator at that time.
Professor Beihl says the moment he taught that first class, “I fell in love with them. They fell in love with me. Basically I fell in love with the teaching.”
Professor Beihl understands what it means to be a community college student as he holds two associates degrees, one from Bucks County Community College and one from Gwynedd-Mercy College. He got his bachelor’s degree at Temple University in Philadelphia where he studied Communication and Theater and planned to follow his passion for performing arts and writing, but after that first ESL class, he went back to school and got a master’s degree in Bilingual Studies at La Salle University and he hasn’t looked back.
Professor Beihl says one way to help ESL students adjust and feel included is to learn something about their country and their culture.
“I always try to make students feel comfortable in class by knowing something about their language,” he says. He speaks as many as seven languages with different levels of fluency.
One of Professor Beihl’s current students, Felicia Rezende from Brazil, says that the readings he has assigned led to good discussions which makes it possible for students to connect with the writers. From there they are able to open up and share their personal stories.
Rezende says Professor Beihl gives students a voice and models a positive way of life. “Through his teachings I learned that our time and our knowledge should be given away as an act of charity whenever we find an opportunity. I am happy to help other students in class as much as I can, and I was able to do that watching Mr. Michael. He is always willing to help us,” she says.
Another current student, Amelia Meledez says, “Mr. Michael doesn’t treat you as just another student, but rather he makes you feel like family.” She says he does this by connecting to students and getting to know their culture and beliefs. She says he shows respect for their opinions, plus he likes “to make people laugh.”
For 26 years Marge Archer, a Student Advocate at MCCC who recently retired, worked with Professor Beihl and was his friend. She says that once he became the coordinator for the ESL program he would “Make sure that all his teachers had everything they needed.” She says, “He cares very much about his students, getting to know them, trying to find out more beyond the classroom.”
Professor Daniel D’Arpa is the director of the World Languages program and has been a professor at Mercer for 12 years. He will be succeeding Professor Beihl as ESL Coordinator and says they share a common view of the job.
Professor D’Arpa says he remembers when he arrived as a new professor at MCCC 12 years ago that Professor Beihl was welcoming and served as a mentor, demonstrating his “human connection with the students.”
He also remembered a moment where he was learning about the college culture and a previous ESL coordinator was retiring. Professor Beihl mentioned at that time how he respected the older professors and how he would honor the things they have done, created and designed for the classes. Professor D’Arpa says “I want him to know, I’m going to continue to value what he did, what those who came before him did, and in the spirit of serving the students, I hope there will come positive changes.”
Professor D’Arpa adds, “My heart really goes out to this group, to this population [of students] because they come over oceans, over deserts, to chase a dream, to plan for the future, and they are excited. They are highly motivated students, with a strong work ethic. They are creative. They are resourceful because they have left the comfort of their homes, their families, their friends and that’s hard to do.”
Asked if he has any advice for other professors as he leaves, Professor Beihl says to always try to have empathy for students.
“You can be the best skill set teacher in the world but if you don’t have a heart, if you don’t have empathy about the population that you’re dealing with, you’re in the wrong business,” he says.
And for students he says that “they should never give up, to always pursue their dreams” in his words “El cielo no tiene límites,” which means “the sky is unlimited for your dreams.”
Although, after 35 years Mr. Michael is retiring, he doesn’t leave with the words “good bye,” or “adios,” or “Adeus” or “再见 (zài jiàn)” or “Tschüss.” Instead he lets his students know he’ll always be there for them, saying “I will see you soon.”
