Alexandra Miller

Meet Alexandra

Pronouns: She/Her

Physics and Astronomy Faculty

Hometown: Vacaville, CA

What is your favorite memory or experience working with students at SSU?

I love working with students in all capacities, from teaching GE courses, where I share my love of physics with students from a wide array of disciplines, to mentoring senior physics majors, where we really get to dive deep into the fascinating world of General Relativity and Particle Physics. I think my favorite memory was at the end of my very first semester at SSU, when I had developed an entirely new GE course. One of my students told me that they had always been nervous about physics, but that they ended up really enjoying my course. That was exactly what I wanted to hear. If I can make my students excited about science, then a big chunk of my job is done.

What made you choose SSU?

Working at SSU is really a dream come true for me. I was born and raised in Northern California (just over an hour away in Vacaville, CA). All of my family is still in the area and family is incredibly important to me. Having been away from Nor Cal for many years, while I was finishing my PhD and beyond, it was amazing to finally be able to return home. Additionally, SSU was very attractive to me because of its small class sizes and its nature as a Liberal Arts institution. Our students and faculty are so wonderful and hard-working. I am grateful every day to have been offered the position here.

What has been the most challenging part of your experience and what did you learn from it?

One of the biggest challenges I always find in my teaching is finding a balance between flexibility and rigor. Students have real things they are dealing with in their lives and I want to give them the flexibility they need to succeed. At the same time, learning to get things done on time is an important life lesson that everyone needs to learn before entering the workforce and endless extensions only result in lots and lots of work at the end of the semester. For these reasons, I am constantly thinking about this balance.

Please share anything else about your experience at SSU?

I am inspired every day by our wonderful students, staff, and faculty!