I’m a mathematics education professor at Texas A&M – Corpus Christi. Originally from Minnesota and North Dakota, I earned my Ph. D. in Educational Mathematics at the University of Northern Colorado in May, 2010. I spend most of my time with my wife, Melissa, a hilarious physical education teacher who was kind enough to move with me to Corpus Christi. (For a laugh, see me in pain.)(Hide Picture.)
Father’s Day 2011
Sometimes true love comes in tiny screaming packages:
In the summer of 2001, I weighed about 285 pounds, which was not fun. I lost over 100 of those pounds in 2002 by reading self-help books and keeping my daily calories to about 1600 calories. That meant reading labels and keeping a calorie count each day (see, math in real life!).
At first I ate a lot of spaghettios (I knew a can was 400 calories) and bologna (35 calories a slice), but later started eating healthier things because I figured out you could eat more if you eat things like vegetables. As I got smaller, I had more energy and ended up jogging pretty regularly.
Losing weight was literally painful, but it was also personally satisfying and kind of addicting. In recent years, I’ve gotten used to eating smaller portions (most of the time), I exercise for fun, but I still struggle with food. The past few years, my weight has oscillated between about 185 and 200 pounds.
(1982) Born in St. Paul, MN.Ten fingers, ten toes- I apparently looked like a “tree trunk.”
(1997) Moved to Finley, ND, where I disliked the small town lifestyle and loved the people and sports.
(1999) Graduated from Finley-Sharon High School. Go Raiders!
(2001) Graduated with a B.S. in Math and a Minor in Chemistry from the U. of North Dakota (UND).
(2002) Lost 100 pounds. Been gaining it back slowly
(2003) Graduated with an M.S. in Mathematics from UND.
(2003) Went on my first date with Melissa Landry on June 3rd. We ate at Lola’s, watched Finding Nemo, and played Memory. It was a tie. She’s won every other time we’ve played
(2004) After working for a year at Oregon State on a Ph.D. program, I moved back to North Dakota for Melissa and taught for 2 years as a Senior Lecturer in the Math Department.
(2005) Finally got Melissa to marry me on July 2, 2005 in Austin, TX. It was hot.
(May, 2010) Earned a Ph.D. in Educational Mathematics at UNC while Melissa taught P.E. at a local school.
(Fall, 2010) Happily started work as an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi.
Hi, again, Joe
Miss Arabella is precious! I am so tickled and proud for you. I hope mom and dad are doing well, too – hopefully, the 3-hour nights are (almost?) over….
Your class pages are, as always, neat places to visit (used to look at your UNCO site all the time). I’m always impressed by your approach to this way of communicating with your students.
I’m doing OK – I don’t know if you knew that I had cancer or not, but it looks like I’ll have it for the rest of my life. It started in my Esophagus, then spread to my liver and right lung. Right now, I’m in Grand Junction getting some treatment, and taking on-line classes to keep my toes in for a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology.
I’d really like to stay in touch. Let me know if you see a move in your future, please.
Thanks so much for checking in. I’m so glad to hear from you and I really appreciate you caring about us during what I’m sure is a really tough time. I’ll send more about the happenings by email.
The easiest way to find me is by email (i.e., Contact Form or joe.champion@tamucc.edu). I'm also often in my office (361-825-3165) in the Center for Instruction at TAMU-CC, Room 359 (see map). For more minute-by-minute information, my Online Schedule is usually pretty accurate.
Father’s Day 2011
Little Arabella Champion is so beautiful! Congratulations!
You’re so nice Genevieve, and thank you! We’re very happy to have such a cute little one keeping us up at night.
Hi Joe, my baby was born Oct 14th (premature). I’ll try and give you a call soon.
Hey Lane! I’m so happy for you. I hope your baby is doing well by now, and I’m looking forward to chatting about all the craziness.
Hi, again, Joe
Miss Arabella is precious! I am so tickled and proud for you. I hope mom and dad are doing well, too – hopefully, the 3-hour nights are (almost?) over….
Your class pages are, as always, neat places to visit (used to look at your UNCO site all the time). I’m always impressed by your approach to this way of communicating with your students.
I’m doing OK – I don’t know if you knew that I had cancer or not, but it looks like I’ll have it for the rest of my life. It started in my Esophagus, then spread to my liver and right lung. Right now, I’m in Grand Junction getting some treatment, and taking on-line classes to keep my toes in for a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology.
I’d really like to stay in touch. Let me know if you see a move in your future, please.
Best,
-Brian
Hi Brian,
Thanks so much for checking in. I’m so glad to hear from you and I really appreciate you caring about us during what I’m sure is a really tough time. I’ll send more about the happenings by email.