Jenifer Poulsen, an associate professor who started last semester, is one of the newest faces in the family and consumer science (FCS) department at Wayne State College.  

Poulsen is originally from Southern California, where she taught family and consumer science courses in middle school and high school. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she started to teach higher education, where she supervised FCS student teachers.  

Poulsen holds a bachelor’s degree in family science from Brigham Young University Provo and a master’s degree in learning and technology from Western Governors’ University. 

Last year, Poulsen taught FCS course at Brigham Young University-Idaho. It is here that she found out about WSC.  

Poulsen was on a mailing list for the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, where a position at WSC was advertised. Ironically, after seeing the email, an alumnus from WSC came to speak at her workplace. This is what led Poulsen to become intrigued and learn more about the college.  

Poulsen started her position at WSC last fall. This semester, she teaches many classes including Intro to Family Consumer Science, Historic Costume, Fashion Illustration, Clothing Design and Soft Furnishings.  

“I love the subject,” Poulsen said. “I teach the fashion merchandising classes and I really love the construction and the sewing. This semester we’re doing historic costumes and it’s just a lot of fun to talk with the students about different time periods.” 

Besides teaching, Poulsen also strongly encourages professional development among her students.  

“I’ve been trying to encourage students to look for opportunities to network and do professional activities and when it comes down to it, you never know when who’s going to end up having information you need,” Poulsen said.  

She encourages every student to get involved in professional training activities, no matter what their major is.  

“Any kind of activities that people are involved in, even if they’re not specifically related to their career, are awesome,” Poulsen said. 

Carol Erwin, an associate professor in the FCS department, spoke about her experiences with Poulsen since she joined the department.  

“She’s really positive and friendly,” Erwin said. “Really overall positive and helpful. I would describe her as being a glass half-full type of person. She’s always looking for the positive in things.”  

Erwin is one of the three full-time professors in the FCS department.  

Because the family and consumer science department is so small, each staff member has many responsibilities.  

“We’re a small school so she’s responsible for a lot of different classes,” Erwin said. “She’s doing a really good job of learning all the different classes that she’s teaching and trying to find projects and things that are interesting and relevant to the students to help them learn.”  

Poulsen loves FCS and everything that comes with it.  

“Family and consumer sciences are my favorite subject,” Poulsen said. “I love teaching in areas that you can use in your personal life and you can also use as a career. That’s really an amazing thing and can be a lot of fun.”  

Students can learn more about the family and consumer science major by visiting the campus website or speaking to FCS professors.