Annemarie Fleishman loves teaching her writing courses to MSOE freshmen, and the challenges that go along with it. “Trying to get an engineer to value writing is probably one of the most difficult things I do,” she said.  

“I make it bearable for those who are just holding their breath and diving through my classes,” she said laughing. But joking aside, personally connecting students to their writing is what she excels at and a challenge she takes seriously.  

“I don’t take that lightly,” said Fleishman. “It’s a great responsibility. I’m part of building their foundations and preparing them for their future careers.”  

The class she enjoys teaching the most is her public speaking class. “It’s so much fun to see them become empowered before my very eyes,” she said. “They’re so scared, and by the end of the speech class they have the confidence they need to present themselves to professionals. It’s really a fun process.”  

It’s the caliber of the students that makes teaching at MSOE so worthwhile, she said. “I tell them all the time, they’re a cut above all the other students I’ve ever taught in my liberal arts positions at other universities.”  

Fleishman knew all about the MSOE experience long before she became an instructor in the Humanities, Social Science, and Communication Department in 2010. While she attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as an undergrad from Racine, Wisconsin, she said a lot of her friends attended MSOE.  

After earning her bachelor’s degree in English, Fleishman moved to Florida where she earned her master’s degree in Secondary English Education at the University of South Florida in Tampa. She lived in Florida for 12 years, and in between, also lived in Portland, Oregon. But she chose to head back to Wisconsin with her daughter and husband to be closer to family. While teaching at MSOE, Fleishman earned her third degree, a master’s in communication from UWM.