Professors’ Kids Tackle a Big Question: What Does Your Parent Do?

A young girl turned to the side types on a black computer keyboard. The girl is wearing a light pink fuzzy sweater and has her hair up in a bun. The background is a computer monitor with four blue sticky notes. — Izzy Shuman, daughter of associate professor of anthropology Allison Harnish, types at her mom’s desk. Harnish said when her daughter visits her, she “likes to use the stickers in the office” (Photo courtesy of Allison Harnish).

They wake up early, disappear for eight hours or more and return with stacks of papers – or sometimes with chemicals you’re told not to touch. They’re not spies; they’re college professors.

But to their kids, the workday can feel like a mystery. Do they really spend all that time grading? Are they scientists mixing potions in a hidden lab, or are they just trapped in endless meetings?

Behind every lecture and office hour is a family watching from the sidelines. And when those family members are children, their interpretations of campus life can be more revealing than any course evaluation.

Izzy Shuman, 3

A pencil drawing of various shapes and figures. On the paper is a variety of pink, blue, red and yellow sticky notes. — Shuman’s drawing of her mother at work. Shuman said while she wouldn’t want to draw professionally, she “can draw, draw, draw” (Illustration courtesy of Izzy Shuman).

Izzy Shuman, daughter of associate professor of anthropology Allison Harnish, said when she visits Harnish on campus, she usually gets to “draw something.” During teaching hours, Shuman said her mom “works at work.”

Shuman added that if her mom were an animal, she’d be a “blue kitty,” and herself, “a kitty.”

McKenna Harris, 12

Three people sit against a purple spray-painted rock. In the background is a sidewalk and grassy lawn. On the left is a young girl wearing a purple t-shirt, leggings and golden Nike Dunks. In the middle is a middle-aged woman wearing a purple sweater, leggings and tennis shoes. On the right is a young boy wearing a dark purple pullover, shorts and Crocs. — Vicki Baker sits on the campus rock with her children, McKenna and Henley Harris. Harris said if her mom wasn’t a professor, “she’d probably do something with research, where she can write papers on what she’s researching” (Photo illustration courtesy of Vicki Baker).

McKenna Harris, daughter of economics professor Vicki Baker, said she knows her mother “teaches economics and business management or something like that” and is “in meetings a lot.”

Harris added Baker’s role is best described as “a teacher at a college” who works with “economics, like world stuff” and “how to manage business.”

Harris said her mother often brings home “papers of like research stuff she’s working on.” When visiting Baker’s office, she said it feels “different because she’s like a celebrity, I guess, ’cause everyone knows her.”

Although Harris said she recalled seeing her mom teach once when she was younger, what stuck with her was “how she interacted with the students.”

Harris added that one of the biggest benefits of having a professor parent is that Baker can help her with homework, especially “English language arts,” though it also means keeping her grades “really good.”

Harris said that while she wouldn’t want to pursue the same career path, she might enjoy teaching writing or a sports-related subject instead.

Elias Reeves, 3

A young boy is displayed in two photos. In the left photo, he is wearing a dark blue and red sweatshirt, along with green cargo pants and blue tennis shoes. The boy is reaching over a table and wearing a pair of lab safety goggles upside down. The right photo displays the boy in a blue and black checkered sweater. The boy is kneeling in a small trashcan and staring up at the camera. — Elias Reeves at his mother’s workplace. Elias Reeves said that if his mother were not a college professor, she would “just color at her office” (Photos courtesy of Jennifer Reeves).

Elias Reeves, son of visiting assistant professor of physical organic chemistry Jennifer Reeves, said his favorite part of visiting his mother at work is “eating food.” He added that he also enjoys “mommy’s office toys” and a makeshift “bed” – a collection of action figures and a resting spot arranged in her office for when he needs a nap.

Jennifer Reeves teaches both general and organic chemistry courses, as well as laboratory sections. When asked if he would follow in his mother’s footsteps as a professor, Elias Reeves said, “yes, yeah” before adding, “I mean, no.”

If his mother was a superhero, Elias Reeves said she would be “Mommyraus” or “speedy like Catboy,” a character from PJ Masks (2015-2025) whose action figure he keeps in her office.

Yoonsol Yang, 9

A young girl is displayed in two photos. In the left photo, she is wearing a jean jacket, along with red pants and light blue tennis shoes. The girl is sitting on a stool and directing from a music stand. The right photo displays the girl in PhD robes and a doctoral tam. The girl is sitting and facing the camera. — Yang in her mother’s classroom and office. Yang said her favorite part of her mother’s job is when she hosts “orchestra parties at the end of the year,” which Yang is invited to join (Photos courtesy of Ji Hyun Kim).

Yoonsol Yang, daughter of assistant professor of violin and viola Ji Hyun Kim, said she believes her mother “teaches music students.” She added that her mom also “plays in an orchestra” and does “violin and conducting.” At home, Yang said she sometimes receives “squishy balls, pop-it balls and Albion stickers” her mother brings from work.

Yang said instead of following in her mother’s footsteps, she’d rather “become a voice actor or a teacher.” If her mother were not a professor, Yang said she’d “make a good art teacher.”

Still, Yang said she enjoys helping during class visits – especially when she gets to “draw on the whiteboard.”

Charlie Jensen-Abbott, 12

A young boy is displayed. He is standing alongside a community pool edge and adjusting a set of swim goggles. The boy is shirtless and wearing navy blue swim trunks. In the foreground is a set of triangular banners, purple and gold. — Jensen-Abbott at one of Albion’s SAAC swim clinics. Jensen-Abbott said, when it comes to the campus, “there’s also a bunch of space, and it’s way bigger than the middle school” he goes to (Photo courtesy of Lia Jensen-Abbott).

Charlie Jensen-Abbott, son of associate professor of music Lia Jensen-Abbott and professor of piano David Abbott, said his parents “often bring home music, their computers and a bunch of papers for grading.”

Charlie Jensen-Abbott said he’s spent time in both of his parents’ offices and classrooms and enjoys how “really cool the college is.”

Charlie Jensen-Abbott added that he’s watched his parents teach lessons, and the best part of having both parents as professors is their ability to support his schoolwork.

“They know what it’s like to be a teacher so they can have a better understanding of what my teachers would think of with my work, so it helps me with my studies,” Charlie Jensen-Abbott said.

Although Charlie Jensen-Abbott added his parents “can be a little bit strict with grades and stuff,” he still said he could see himself teaching someday.

Cassius and Dylan Grow, 8 and 15

Two young boys are displayed behind a sign reading “SCIENCE COMPLEX.” The boy on the left is wearing a red shirt, while the boy on the right is wearing a dark purple shirt with “Briton” on it in gold lettering. — Cassius and Dylan Grow in front of the building their parents teach in. Dylan said the best part of having professors as parents is that “they know a lot” and that if he ever has “a question, they’re open to talking about it” (Photo illustration courtesy of April Grow).

Cassius, 8, and Dylan, 15, are the sons of technical lecturer April Grow and visiting instructor of mathematics Christopher Grow. Cassius said when at work, his parents “teach math all day,” while Dylan, who has attended his parents’ classes before, said his “dad does math 100 this semester” and his mom usually teaches “calculus and college algebra.”

Cassius said his parents bring “usually paper,” home, with Dylan adding that “sometimes, especially around Christmas, my mom just needs a break because of all the grading.”

Cassius said the worst part of having professors for parents comes down to timing, with department meetings on Monday or long grading sessions leaving him “bored or waiting around.”

While Dylan said he wasn’t sure whether he’d want to follow in his parent’s footsteps, Cassius said he’ll become “a YouTuber, there’s no changing that.”

Dylan said he likes how his parents know people from other disciplines and when he needs “quiet places to study,” he “can go to the college.”