Duane Stoltzfus
I love that I can walk to work in Goshen, and that I can always find parking right by my office or at home. I love that I can be downtown by foot, by bike, by car in a minute. And it’s ironic that while I lived and worked in New York, because commuting was often such a hassle, during evenings, I just wanted to stay home. There were so many options for the arts in New York, obviously. Anything that you wanted to see or do or hear, you can. But, in fact I was often home.
I find myself doing a lot more now, taking in more of the offerings of art and sports here in Goshen because it’s rich and it’s convenient.
I was here as a student from 1977-81. I graduated with a degree in English. Then I went back to New York City, where I grew up. I worked there for about 20 years in the New York and New Jersey area for newspapers of different sizes. My wife and I came back here in 2000 with my wife and two daughters. I’ve been teaching at Goshen now for 20 years.
I always enjoyed school and being here at Goshen College I learned so much. I enjoyed my professors here. I remember thinking when I graduated, if I could do two things in my career, I would be really happy. One was to work at the New York Times, hometown paper. The other was to come back and teach at Goshen College. And I am so fortunate that I have been able to do both. Granted it took me almost forty years.
Lord knows, I’ve never stopped learning, so I love teaching. Everyday I come in and I go, “What are we going to learn today.” There’s that linkage between being a journalist and being a professor. Both are based on a kind of asking of questions, gathering of information, talking with others, trying to figure things out and trying to make sense of things create a narrative. It’s fun.
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