When she was 15 and working in a dress factory in Avoca, Penna., Christine Kiesinger made what may have been the most important decision of her life.

"There were horrible working conditions, and I would see these women who had worked there all their lives," she says. "I thought, 'This could be me in 30 years!'¹ I knew I had to find a way to get out."

Although no one in her family had gone to college, Kiesinger entered Luzern County Community College and discovered an interest in speech.

"I had a speech teacher who encouraged me to speak on a competitive level. That was very important to me because I was able to travel places I¹d never been with the speech team, and at the same time, it solidified my choice to go into communication."

Kiesinger finished her undergraduate work at Wilkes University, a small liberal arts college in Wilkes-Barre, Penna. Her next stop was the University of Virginia, where she received her master's degree in rhetoric and communication studies. There, she fell in love with teaching.

"I knew in the first 20 seconds of my first class that I had found my calling."

She spent the next five years at the University of South Florida, where she earned her doctorate and served as visiting professor in communication for two years. In the fall of 1997, Kiesinger came to Southwestern.

"I really wanted to teach at a place like Wilkes, and after I interviewed with Roy Shilling, I knew I would have the freedom to teach the way I wanted. President Shilling showed me that day that he cared about who I was as a human being, not just what was on my resume."

More than two years into her "dream job," Kiesinger says teaching at Southwestern has given her an opportunity to develop personal relationships with her students unlike any of her previous teaching experiences. She enjoys the fact that the department is small enough to allow her to focus on her area of expertise‹close relationships.

There is one part of her position, however, that she does not enjoy: "Grading. I think it interferes with the learning process. It is very difficult to test and evaluate my students on their close relationships and lived, emotional experience. I would rather my students focus on applying what they learn to their lives."

Kiesinger has spent the past several years researching and writing about eating disorders. A recovering bulimic, she regularly presents narratives during "Eating and Body Image Week," which takes place on Southwestern¹s campus each February. This year, in addition to doing a narrative performance, she will participate in a panel on recovery. "Eating disorders on this campus are an epidemic. Many people have contacted me because of my work. I'm available as a resource for them."

In the near future, Kiesinger is hoping to have her book manuscript on anorexia and bulimia published.

"I wouldn't describe it as a purely educational or self-help book. I want it to be read by a broader audience. It's really something everyone could understand."

In the distant future, Kiesinger says she would eventually like to buy a house and start a family.

"And I¹d really like to own and operate my own yoga center. I'd still teach, of course."

Outside of work, Kiesinger enjoys yoga and teaching aerobics, which she has done for the past 15 years. She lives with her dog Emily, a seven-year-old Lhasa Apso, with whom she is very close.

"Emily's spirit really defines me. She is peaceful, loving but guarded, profoundly loyal, and intuitive."

-Greg Holland