Weekdays

7:30 a.m.- clock in for work

4:40 p.m.- clock out for work and drive to UNT

5:25 p.m.- Class at UNT 

8:20 p.m.- go home and study 

Repeat

For science teacher Chris Ham, structure is everything. 

“Structure was/is very important to me.” Ham said. “I use time blocking to schedule times when I’m doing work, school, errands, and personal time.”

For the past eight years, Ham has had to maintain a balance between his full-time teaching career along with his studies as a graduate student in pursuit of his PhD. 

Getting his PhD in Education Psychology from University of North Texas in August, the multitasking educator talks about his journey thus far. 

“It’s crazy, I’ve never not been in school until this summer,” he said. “When I got a job here at Liberty, I was in master’s school and right after I graduated, I did my doctorate. So I’ve never not been a college student. Until very recently.”

Initially, becoming an educator was never part of the plan for Ham. 

“Teaching was never an idea of mine,” he said. “I like research. I like medicine. So that’s why I majored in biology and minored in chemistry, but I still needed a job.”

However, this all changed when he was offered the role of a teaching assistant. 

“I was offered a job teaching physics,” Ham said. “Not because I [thought it would] be fun. Because I needed money. And then I realized it is kind of fun, and I realized that I’m kind of good at it, and I enjoyed doing it. So I added education to my science degree.” 

It was Ham’s PhD program which strengthened his belief that an understanding of science is key to empowering people to make informed and healthy decisions for themselves.

“Everyone has to deal with science, think of it like medicine,” Ham said. “Medicine is still science. We have to deal with what a pandemic is, or how a virus works, those are things that we all are affected by. So we all need to be able to think for ourselves, and that’s what I care a lot about.”

In fact, he contributes to students’ learning everyday in impactful ways. Senior Srividya Nalladdhighal believes that Dr. Ham’s teaching style has made her less hesitant to ask questions.

“I think Dr. Ham has a very optimistic attitude about learning and truly believes in his students’ ability to understand a concept, no matter how difficult they may find it at the beginning” Nalladdhighal said.

Sophomore Cindy Trinh has also gained confidence in AP Biology due to Dr. Ham’s unique teaching methods. 

“He is unique in the sense that he loves to use metaphors and stories to explain complex biological and cellular processes,” Trinh said. “For example, when he was explaining the light reactions in photosynthesis, he created a story with characters to explain the entire process.”

Ultimately, Ham believes it is the enthusiasm and dedication which he pours into his teaching that has carried him through the pursuit of his doctorate. 

“I just felt like I had to continue,” Ham said. “I did a lot of self reflection on what I want my life to be,” he said, “what my legacy is going to be like, and I felt that education needs a lot of love and care. There’s a lot to be done in education, and I’m wanting to be a part of that and help prepare our future leaders of the world to be the best leaders that they can be.”