Welcome to the Dragon Community: Michelle Abshire

Q: Where are you originally from?
A: I was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana and raised in Houston, Texas. Then I moved up to this area after I went to college in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Q: What motivated you to take this position?
A: I love the Fargo-Moorhead area, it’s the perfect size for me. I also really appreciate the culture that they’ve created here at the university;, the schools’ values align well with mine. It just feels like this is a place where I can fit in.

Q: What do you love most about getting to work with students?
A: I love the lightbulb moments, when you’re teaching a class, it is so nice to see a student put all of the pieces together.

Q: What’s a personal goal you have?
A: I just want to end up here, make this my forever home. I’d also like to build up a strong research program and incorporate undergraduates into my research.

Q: If you could have lunch with anyone living or dead, who would it be and why?
A: I would like to have lunch with Iggy Pop, because I named my dog after him, and he’s lived such an interesting life and is such a colorful person. I just want to sit and listen to him talk.

Q: What’s one of your favorite things to do outside of work?
A: I love hiking, anything outdoors, especially anything in the western half of the country; because I am a geologist, I love to see all the rocks.

Q: What’s something about you that others may not know?
A: I was a non-traditional student; I didn’t go back to college until I’d had kids and worked for about fifteen years.

Welcome to the Dragon Community, Michelle!