JACK BROOK REFLECTS ON TIME AT MHCC

Jack Brook, a science instructor who has been working at MHCC since September of 1990, will be retiring after the Summer Term. He talked to the Advocate about his life and career – which has revolved around food.

Brook earned three different degrees in the sciences, himself. His first was earned at Washington State University in microbiology, his second at Oregon State University in food science, and his third at Central Washington University, in nutrition.

He has been working in, or around, food his entire life. He grew up on a farm in Grandview, Washington (east of Yakima), and worked his way through college in a food processing plant for frozen corn and carrots. He then got a job working in a French-fry plant. After getting his degree in nutrition, he worked in a hospital as an intern in the dietetics department. Soon he took, and passed, the test to become a dietician.

Brook said he never expected to become a teacher, but working as a dietician required a lot of teaching. This led to him deciding to call Portland Community College to see if it ever needed nutrition teachers. Fifteen minutes later, he got a call in which PCC told him they had an opening for nutrition instructor. 

Once Brook started teaching, he realized that he really liked it. 

“It’s constant learning, especially in nutrition where they (food researchers) are changing weekly what they recommend… and I love school, that’s why I went back so many times,” he said.

“When you work in food processing, it’s pretty much the same thing every day. You go and inspect the food. That can get kind of boring, but with teaching, you are always developing new things and trying to improve your teaching.”

One of Brook’s favorite parts about teaching is, of course, the students, especially because of their motivation, he said. He especially enjoys laboratories, because he gets to know the students, and joke around with them and become close.

Upon wrapping up his 29th year at MHCC, he hopes to travel with his wife, who is currently getting her doctorate degree in history at the University of Idaho. They may travel to England to look up in the British library system just what has happened to muslin, a textile (thin type of cotton) that has largely been phased out over the past couple hundred years.

“I will miss the students and faculty here at Mt. Hood, and I’m looking forward for new adventures ahead.”