A farewell to Michael Darcher and a reflection on his career

With the end of the academic year, a transition of change follows not far behind. For students, this may mean transferring to a university, for employers– possibly new applicants or interns, professors– classes end and summer classes begin, and others celebrate the end of their career to a new chapter of their life.

This year has been a year of firsts for Pierce College, and one of them will be the first year that the SLAM, the Student Literary Arts Magazine, will live on without Professor Michael Darcher inspiring students to make their work known and in print.

Darcher is retiring this year, and as he has worked for the college for so many years and impacted numerous lives as an educator, it is worth noting the legacy of his work he will leave behind and how he has equipped countless students to explore ideas and the importance of literature.

His journey to Pierce College was an unconventional one, and when asked, he says that he “Never dreamed of being an educator for a second,” as he taught classes as a graduate student at the University of Montana as a means to gain free tuition. In the process, he says he learned that he liked teaching and was really good at it. As a professor, he believes that he “wasn’t groomed in the tanks of the academy to do this.” Darcher said, “I lead a life before this, I was casino dealer and in the gaming industry for many years – I have my fair share of traveling and kicking around before this.”

Yet, writing has always been something he enjoyed and had a passion for. He recaps that his parents made writing an “attractive thing to him,” and that both of his parents read and were articulate. He always enjoyed storytelling, he says, and as a professor, he has also been able to kindle the creative process and interest in literature in other students.

College students do a lot of writing, and not all of it is enjoyable writing. Whereas, Darcher has made writing and the process important to students and helped foster a classroom atmosphere where critical thinking leads students to want to explore ideas.

Among all artistic careers and endeavors, the world responding to one’s work is undoubtedly the most rewarding piece of putting one’s work out into the world, and this goes for getting published just as much. With the success of the SLAM, Darcher sees this not only as a rewarding experience in how many students have been able to see their work valued by others, t that he has been very thankful to cross paths with certain students and, as a teacher, to watch “their boats leave the bay as they take on their life in front of them.”

Writing is a lot like life in how, especially when one is trying to get published, it requires perseverance when one receives rejection slips, as inevitably, all writers will. Darcher shares that he has dozens of stories of encounters with editors and publishers. He recounts that “I have published great stories, one accepted within 20 days of mailing it out – I don’t think it can happen quicker than that. I have had a story rejected within 10 days times, I have had rejection letters the size of post it note. I have had a story where a publisher claimed they had lost it in the mail and then published it 11 months later. I have had stories nominated for prizes.” His best advice to overcome writer’s block is to just write, even if “you are laying down a cracked brick, better to go back and fix it later,” and his advice to writers pursuing a career and hoping to get published is to realize that “Rejection comes with the territory,” Darcher says.

Without a doubt, while the student body will continuously change, the students’ lives going forward that he has impacted will live on.

A few students enthusiastically share that no other professor could ever replace Mr. Darcher. Not only has The SLAM clearly created a creative outlet for many students, but as an educator, he has inspired them to think critically and dig deeper.

They also share their most memorable moments and favorite quotes from Mr. Darcher.

Adrian Miliano, a student at Pierce, took English 107 with Darcher, he says initially, he was not really concerned with literature. “However, the things that he taught made me care,” Miliano said, “That there is more meaning in the stories if you choose to look deeper. It has impacted me to think more. I really appreciate that.” Miliano says that the skills he learned in his class he will take with him for the rest of his life.

Skyler Hampton, a student ambassador, is currently taking his English 101 class and says that his class is “the meat and potatoes of my day – I look forward to that class more than all of them – he cares about digging deeper.” She says that the way he brings color to writing and gets people to care about discussion is amazing.

Hampton said, “Darcher has his own swagger when he comes to work that goes with his passion and enthusiasm. There is not another guy like him in life!” Her favorite thing she remembers Darcher saying is to “Say what you mean and mean what you say.”

Josie Folino, another student ambassador, took Darcher’s 102 class. Her favorite aspect of Darcher’s teaching style is how he structures the class discussion. She says she loves his insightful comments and how he “Always gives good feedback.” She laughs when she remembers his dry humor and how he gets students interested in discussion, she recounts that “one day in class, he said, tomorrow we are discussing the F-Word…Feminism!”

Ben Capuli, another Pierce student enjoyed Darcher’s English 101 class more than any other English class he has taken going forward. He says he loved how Darcher is such an open minded professor who doesn’t conform to academic norms, Capuli then said, “He belongs in the professor Hall of Fame, if there was such a thing. He really goes above and beyond.” Capuli’s favorite quote of Professor Darcher’s is when Darcher explains his days in school, and that us students “Work so hard these days and don’t get a chance to relax, back in my day, we used to smoke the wacky tabacky in class.”

Upon his departure from Pierce College, Darcher remarks that “Pierce College, in so many ways, has defined the person I have become. I revere the classroom, I think it is an artificial but necessary concept. It is so important to build on your ideas, explore them, and consider others.”

Darcher’s next step is to get another novel published, and to travel. “We live on a great planet, I want to see more of it before we boil it,” Darcher said.

He also wants to play more golf, intends to throw away his alarm clock, and spend more time with his family, “God knows I need it,” Darcher said.

Pierce College will sincerely miss having Darcher as a professor in the years to come, but the so many students have benefitted from him as an educator and the SLAM will continue to bring aspiring artists’ work to life.