Proving movie vampires suck
Susan Nyikos resides in Aggie Village, enjoys movies, hiking and always makes sure to attend her English class. All in all, she appears to be an average person on campus.
The main detail that sets her apart is that Nyikos isn’t a student, she is a lecturer for the department of English at Utah State University. So instead of just attending her English classes, she teaches them.
One unique aspect about Nyikos’ teaching experience is living on campus with her triplet sons who currently attend USU.
While some may think that living on campus isn’t that great, Nyikos had a list of positive aspects it provides. “Campus is very pretty; I have a great view with mountains on both sides. It is also close and connected. I’m next door neighbors with my students!”
The only negative point she pointed out was the amount of time needed to complete her many tasks and still have time to attend the multiple events sponsored on campus. “Just working on prep and class, [I] still miss things. It’s very sad. When there are two or three things I want to attend, I just have to prioritize.”
Nyikos had to travel much further than most students and faculty to come to USU. She began her education in Hungary where she completed a dual major in history and the English language and literature.
In the past, most people who wanted to teach studied Russian because of the political situation, Nyikos said.
“English is becoming a popular degree,” she said, “but they are still just building a base and looking for experienced teachers. When I go back to visit, they always ask me when I’m coming back to teach English!”
In 1997, Nyikos moved to the United States and began teaching at York College in York, Pa. A few moves later Nyikos came to USU, where she has been for the past three years.
She still makes time for her hobbies and Utah is a great place for someone who enjoys hiking and outdoors, Nyikos said.
“I spent this summer in the back country. It was very good. [Then] someone told me that all of Utah was back country,” she said, laughing.
Besides hobbies and teaching, she said she has also spent plenty of time raising her sons.
“With triplets, I thought that would be a good thing to do,” she said while smiling.
Much of her remaining time is spent conducting research, she said. In the English department, professors research several topics, and Nyikos’ area of expertise is vampires. Well, Gothic literature, that is.
“The classical kind. American Gothic is still open for research,” she said jokingly.
Nyikos said her work involves research and presentations on vampire folklore and also how it appears in popular culture, including the Hollywood perception of Dracula. She said she took courses in film and cinema in college just for fun and now is able to tie in her love of movies to her professional vocation.
“While reading books that have been turned into movies, a lot has been changed,” she said. An example she gave is the ethnicity of Dracula. “[He is] just portrayed wrong. Dracula has a Hungarian accent and the people in the villages are in Hungarian folk dresses, but he actually lived in Malaysia.”
Among her many travels, Nyikos said she was able to visit one of the castles of Dracula.
Her time is currently spent teaching, which includes an honors intermediate writing class, English 2010, and Introduction to Shakespeare. She said Shakespeare was another one of her many studies at college that she thoroughly enjoys teaching it now.
Nyikos said in the past she taught several introductory English classes and she looks forward to the classes she will be teaching in the future.
During the spring semester, Nyikos will be teaching a class focusing on the beat generation. The English department is paying tribute to this genre because the anniversary of beat literature is being celebrated.
-eliseras@cc.usu.edu
Susan Nyikos, a lecturer in the English department, currenly lives in Aggie Village with her three sons, who are students here.