Engaging. Authentic. Curious. Present. Busy. These are all words used to describe senior lecturer Teri Johnson.
Johnson has been a lecturer at South Dakota State University since 2014, when she and her husband returned to Brookings. In addition to her teacher role, she is a pastor at three rural churches and a member of the Brookings School Board — that’s the busy part.
This semester, Johnson teaches four sections of Life, Love and Money and three sections of Mastering Lifetime Learning. She makes it a point to remember a student’s name, even in her larger classes. She thinks that remembering somebody’s name makes them feel seen and heard. At the beginning of each semester, she doesn’t pass around attendance sheets. She does attendance by herself, which helps her learn each person’s name. She said she has done this in her ministry, too.
“I’ve always been in, prior to right now, been in really, really big churches, and you can kind of get swallowed up,” Johnson said. “So I just made it a point, like remember, remember, remember.”
Johnson is a graduate of SDSU. The Rapid City native decided to attend SDSU because her mother came to school here, and she grew up with South Dakota State College memorabilia around the house. A few of her friends from Rapid City also attended SDSU, influencing her decision.
Johnson earned a degree in sociology and a minor in religion and women’s studies. After graduation, she attended the Iliff School of Theology in Denver and earned her master of divinity degree. She later went on to attend Sioux Falls Seminary, where she received her doctor of ministry degree in 2000.
Johnson preached at multiple churches before returning to Brookings and becoming a lecturer in 2014. Since then, she has been a part of the School of Education, Counseling and Human Development’s exploratory studies program and the Counseling and Human Resource Development Program.
She said that she thinks this was the direction God was calling her. She loves being a part of the exploratory program because she has a passion for helping students explore their options.
“I’m a curious person anyway, so to work with students that are curious about all the majors, curious about finding their right path and being open, really seemed to be a good fit for me, because I was still exploring my life, even at that age,” Johnson said.
Johnson has a gift for interacting with others and making them feel like they belong. This quality hasn’t gone unnoticed by her students and colleagues.
One colleague of Johnson’s, Anne Karabon, who is the director of the School of Education, Counseling and Human Development, said she has heard great feedback from students, especially students who have taken a religion class with Johnson.
“She has the ability to teach about multiple perspectives and also allows perspectives to be safe and present in the classroom discussion,” Karabon said.
This isn’t necessarily a unique quality, Karabon said, but one that is very special and important while in the classroom. Johnson has the ability to make connections within her classrooms and the community. She is a good listener and uses that skill while teaching and preaching.
Karabon said Johnson’s personality is authentic. She is always real, and that helps her connect with others. She also said Johnson’s ability to “compartmentalize” helps her be present in every situation, even with her busy schedule.
“When she’s teaching a course, she is fully there and whole, like whole body, whole mind into what is happening,” Karabon said.
Johnson said she enjoys learning about her students and their lives. She is inspired by her students every day. She has even had the opportunity to teach students she baptized as babies.
“I love interacting with students, because I learn as much as they do,” Johnson said. “I think I really value curiosity, so curiosity about others, and so, getting to know students, learning more about them, their life stories, where they’re from, what they contribute.”
Freshman Nora Peterson, a criminology major, had Johnson as a teacher for the first-year seminar. She said Johnson always did her best to make the class engaging and fun.
“That’s my favorite class I’ve ever had,” Peterson said.
Peterson was surprised that Johnson is also a minister.
Being employed at SDSU and at three churches in the community creates a busy schedule for Johnson. She said her congregants are understanding and know that she teaches full-time. She does her teaching during the week, which allows her to be present at church on the weekends and Wednesday nights.
With her free time, Johnson enjoys spending time with her family, grandchildren and dogs. She also likes to bake bread, read and knit. On campus, she enjoys taking part in fitness classes at the Miller Wellness Center when her schedule allows it. 2BFit is her favorite class.
Johnson’s advice for students is to be engaged in what they do.
“We can just be fully present to each other, show up to life,” Johnson said. “We all have bad days, but I think if we show up and bring our gifts and accept each other, life’s going to be pretty good.”
Johnson loves teaching all her classes, but her favorite class to teach is the first-year seminar. She enjoys getting to see new students during their first semester on campus and helping them find their way at SDSU. She is grateful to be able to teach and continue being a minister.
“I’m so lucky that I can do two jobs that I love,” Johnson said. “I love it.”
