WCC says goodbye to photo instructor

Alisa Chmerenko and Gabriela Gómez

The Washtenaw Voice

In the Digital Media Photography department, collaborative educators have committed their lives to guide future, past and present generations of photographers. 

One of those inspiring teachers who have dedicated their life to teaching for about 36 years would be none other than Terry Abrams. 

His teaching career started in 1988 as a part-time employee and in 1990 as a full-time instructor.  

Abrams began instructing while he was in Arizona State University. They were looking for someone who could teach low-income schools. He volunteered for the position, which brought him to his first teaching experience for not only children but parents as well. 

“I had the parents and children, their cameras as I was trying to teach them photography and we had a dark room in the cloakroom of the classroom of the school and it was amazing. It was amazing and they were really interested,” Abrams said. 

As the young and inexperienced teacher he used to be, Abrams recalls with a nostalgic laugh that his first lesson was awkward.

“I was so nervous and I really wasn’t sure how to do it, so I brought a music player with me and played music,” Abrams said. “So weird, it’s embarrassing to think about that now.”

His career has taken him to Germany, Spain, England and Portugal to educate people about the practices of photography. For 13 years, he taught in Europe but eventually decided to come back to the USA. Influenced by his sister, he decided to settle in Ann Arbor to find a photography community to start teaching again. 

“Everyone said I should come to Washtenaw Community College, and so I came here and applied to teach and that’s how I got here,” Abrams said. 

His classes are designed to offer each of his students an equal opportunity to succeed and provide a cooperative classroom where all students work together.

Michael Smith, one of his colleagues recollects, “I took his Color Photo Design and Black and White digital, and I loved it. Those classes, I very much enjoyed the way he taught classes; I felt as if he was teaching to me.”

WCC treats the training of the future generation of photographers strictly, precisely and responsibly. As a result, classrooms became a safe entertaining and educational space for different people with different backgrounds.  

“Retired People sitting next to people who are in the technical middle college working together. They’re just a great opportunity for people who normally wouldn’t be with each other to show that they have something in common and work together,” said Abrams.

Ranar Tyler, a photography student who had classes with Abrams said, “I wanna say, it was nice to have you as a teacher for this one little semester, “ adding she hopes he enjoys his retirement. 

Abrams already has ideas on how to expand his retirement by spending more time with his own photography and producing images to develop his photography career for workshops and galleries. 

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