Adjunct history professor enjoys building community
This semester, Tayler Otten, a senior majoring in English and creative writing, is creating content for the Lakeland blog. This is the latest in a series of blog stories she’s written.
The learning that Tony Gentine, adjunct instructor of history at Lakeland University, inspires in his own classroom, motivates him to continue learning.
Gentine completed his Ph.D. in History at UW-Milwaukee in December of 2022. Having sparked a passion for teaching history as a high school history teacher at Sheboygan North, Gentine decided to continue his educational journey.
“[My] students at Sheboygan North were involved in National History Day,” Gentine shared. “I enjoyed helping them with their projects, which eventually led to my desire to return to higher education.”
As a Sheboygan County native, Gentine formed many connections with the community around him, including the Lakeland community.
Gentine’s connection to Lakeland started in his youth. As a high school student, he attended a writing camp at Lakeland. As a high school teacher, he corresponded with Lakeland professors to create opportunities for his students. Five years ago, he officially joined the Lakeland community as an adjunct.
“I love learning, and I love learning from students. The more students learn to tell their stories in the classroom, the better their day will be,” Gentine said. “I look forward to developing new history classes at Lakeland to give students more choices.”
Even after joining Lakeland and earning his Ph.D., Gentine dedicated himself to expanding his network and aiding his community. As a member of the board of the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center, Gentine works hard to preserve the past.
“I am interested in looking at ways for area nonprofits and civic organizations to think about ways to archive artifacts to tell their story,” Gentine said. “Often, people come to the research center with archives after someone has died or a business has closed. I hope to communicate with local people and organizations to think about this while they live or their organizations thrive.”
Gentine’s work as a high school teacher, professor and husband/dad make him who he is today. Even as his life gets busier, he still finds ways to enjoy living and archiving his own history, including welcoming his first grandson, Francis, into his community.
