The inside scoop on one of Chaffey's top English professors and strongest advocates for immigrant and DREAMER life on campus.

By Ethan Hardaway

Professor Neil Watkins has been a professor at Chaffey College for nearly 20 years, where he not only teaches English, but also serves on the senate and is club advisor for UNIDOS, previously known as the DREAMers Club. He is a major advocate for healthy and inclusive campus life, not only for his students but for all students on campus, providing inclusive support and advocacy for everyone.

Professor Watkins moved to The United States at age nine when his father had a worthwhile job opportunity, resulting in the entire family relocating together. With a strong interest in reading and writing in high school, he felt that an English major was the right path to pursue.

Professor Watkins earned his Bachelors of Arts in English from the University of California, Irvine and continued for his Masters from Claremont Graduate University, which he received after graduating in 1994. Shortly thereafter, he finished his scholarly academic goals, earning his PhD from Claremont Graduate University.

Professor Watkins serves as the club advisor for the "United Network of Immigrants and Dreamers Organizing for Students" or "UNIDOS" which advocates for a safe space for undocumented students and allies to convene, something that is exceptionally valuable since a federal ruling that DACA is unlawful.

He helped push for a permanent and dedicated safe space for DREAMers and allies stating "a few years ago, the DREAMers club advocated for DREAMers resource center[...]" which was unfortunately denied. Fortunately, however, he stated, "we got the 'Center for Cultural and Social Justice' in 2018 during the 'Trump era, ending of DACA."

This is not the only way that he serves the students on campus.

When Professor Watkins is not serving as advisor or teaching in class, he is engaged in Chaffey's Academic Senate in which he is currently serving his term as President. He emphasized the importance of Chaffey's Senate in regards to feedback and the overall curriculum, instruction and student success.

Prior to his tenure at Chaffey, he worked in multiple educational positions, from Harvey Mudd College as a teaching assistant to Mt. San Antonio College where he served as an adjunct professor of English for about six years.

After teaching and multiple schools, he chose Chaffey College in 2003 stating, "I came to love it over the years. It's a great environment for students with great faculty." He has continued to improve on that legacy.

Professor Watkins truly wants all of his students to succeed and goes above and beyond to create opportunities for every one of them to make it through his class. Countless students and online feedback support this, emphasizing Professor Watkins' engagement, feedback, genuinity and understanding of students needs through many situations.

One of his students that I interviewed stated "He cares about you, and you don't really see that often. He engages with students in the class and he's really easy to talk to[...] he has this warm welcoming feeling."

Another student felt that Professor Watkins had truly helped guide them stating "he was one of the first professors that actually made me feel welcome[...]like I belong here at Chaffey. He gave me a sense of purpose. He makes it seem like anything is possible for you and really opens opportunities for his students."

When asked about his future plans at Chaffey College, he stated "I want to focus on teaching again", emphasizing that providing education in more classes and directly interacting with and empowering more students is what he most enjoys.

Professor Watkins is a fan of Dungeons and Dragons and Star Wars, and if you don't see him on campus, there is a good chance he is reading a good book, the news or interacting with students remotely.

Come 2023, Professor Watkins will be taking a step back from Chaffey's Academic Senate to accommodate more students and thus, more classes. If you are still waiting to take English 1A or English 1B at Chaffey College, Professor Neil Watkins is happy to have you.

Humans of Chaffey: Neil Watkins