Jason Roche: Students find Roche always reachable

It would be easy for professor Jason Roche of the Communications Department to come into his office at 8 a.m. and shut his door until his first class at 10.

It would be easy to teach his mass media class for no more than the fifty minutes allotted, skirt out of the classroom to his office for lunch with the door closed and emerge only to suffer through his afternoon classes, hustle swiftly to his car and leave campus promptly at 5 p.m. every day.

But Roche doesn’t believe in doing things the easy way like some professors at big, state schools.

Roche didn’t do things the easy way in college, either; it wasn’t until he was almost finished that he realized he wanted to be a college professor, and would need more years of school to achieve his new goal.

"I always wanted to be a sportscaster, but I got to my senior year and I realized, ‘You know, I just want to be in college; I love college,’ " Roche said with a chuckle.

Roche attended graduate school at Syracuse University after working for a radio station in Syracuse, N.Y., for a year. He obtained quite a bit of experience in Syracuse where he worked as a radio reporter, newspaper correspondent and news anchor while attending graduate school.

Roche uses his real-world experience when teaching his classes, and he said that the passion for creativity he acquired through working in the communications industry carries over into his classrooms.

"I really like the [classes] like the radio production class," Roche said. "I like any course where I get to see students take a project idea from beginning to

Roche said that he has different ways to get hidden creativity out of introverted students.

"Everybody has creativity; everybody has a story," Roche said. "Sometimes working as a group on a project helps get it

Roche’s students recognize his push for creativity and his involvement in his classes.

"I think he not only goes out of his way to help you with concepts you don’t fully understand, but he does it in a way that keeps you engaged," said junior Sarah Randles.

Randles said that bored students often mess around on their phones and distract classmates.

"I didn’t think about my phone once during professor Roche’s class," she said.

Other students recognize Roche’s commitment to being available to his students outside of his office hours, something that is hard to ensure as a college professor.

"Roche is an awesome professor," said junior ReShawn Wilder. "He is one of the only professors that you can call or contact whenever you need him. Whether it’s staying late or arriving early, he’s

If Roche isn’t in the Briggs Building, he can often be found in the Titan Dining Room or The Loft.

"I eat in the cafeteria a lot," Roche said. "Sometimes I’ll sit down with random students, introduce myself and eat with

Roche said that he believes many of the professors at UDM share his positive attitude toward students.

"I think that all of the professors really care about the students," said Roche. "That’s one of the things that really makes this university

Roche takes his responsibility as a professor to heart.

He said that he and the other professors aren’t only teachers, but that they are here for the students.

"Professors are not there to fail you, they’re there to help," he said. "The university is really set up to help in as many ways as

Along with trusting the professors, Roche had one other bit of advice for incoming freshmen.

"Really work, and you’ll do fine," he said.