If you’ve ever gotten help from the Math Help Desk in the Learning Center, chances are, you’ve met Mike Storrs. Storrs began working at LBCC in 2000 as an Instructional Assistant for Math 20. Since that time, he’s taken on different roles within the math department and is currently a part-time math instructor, and a full-time Instructional Assistant 2 at the Math Help Desk.

Originally from Santa Rosa, California, Storrs moved to Bend, Oregon with his parents in middle school. He attended Bend High School, and started his college education at the University of Colorado. Before finishing his degree, he came back to Oregon and attended Central Oregon Community College, and then Oregon State University where he completed his bachelors degree and began working on his masters in math.

Currently Storrs lives in Corvallis with his wife, Michelle Storrs, and son, Sam Storrs, in a small home they purchased 20 years ago and have enjoyed fixing up over the last couple of decades. Michelle manages the gift shop at Good Samaritan Hospital in Corvallis, and Sam is in the automotive program here at LB.

When you were in college, did you know you wanted to be a math teacher?

Yes. There were a couple of reasons I wanted to become a teacher. When I was a kid my dad lost his job and went back to school. He was going to try to get an education to get a better job but he failed out because of his math class. I tried to help him with his math. I was in sixth or seventh grade and the math was easier than the math I was doing. He ended up finding a job in Oregon before he finished school, but I kept thinking that if he could have passed that math class we could have been in a better position in life. He could have gotten a better job. When I’m helping students I think about how they’re someone’s mom or dad and how they’re trying to pass this class to do better for their family. I keep that in my mind. 

The other reason is, when I was in highschool, I was tutoring and I remember this one student I helped ended up doing well on a test and she shared her happiness with me afterwards and it felt like my happiness too. Even now when a student comes back to the desk and tells me that they passed and they’re so happy it makes all of this worth it.

How did you end up working at LB? 

My original major was math so I could become a high school math teacher, but I struggled in my math classes and I actually flunked calculus my freshman year.  Part of why I left Colorado was my grades. I wasn’t doing well and I needed to find a way to pass calculus, so I took Math 241 Business Calculus, which is all elementary school teachers needed, so that got me interested in maybe teaching elementary school. But, I sat in with a third grade class at Lincoln Elementary and could not meet their level of energy. So, I sat in a high school geometry class at Corvallis High, and again, I just felt like I couldn’t match their energy level. I also knew the hardest part of teaching is dealing with the parents, so I knew I had to get higher than this. 

I finally passed calculus and then I was on my way to possibly becoming a college math teacher. But after I got my bachelors, I was kind of burnt out on education. I went back to Bend and got a job building houses. I did that for about a year. I was back in Corvallis visiting friends and while I was at Winco I saw one of my old math professors in line and I asked him what kind of jobs I could get with this math degree. He asked if I’d checked the community college, which I’d never thought of, I’d never even been to LB. So, I came here and they immediately put me to work in the Math 20 classroom and this is where my energy matched. 

What do you like about teaching?

I like it when the students tell me that they were never good at math but now they feel better about it. I like when I hear that they have always struggled with math but now they feel like they’re getting it. I always try to not stress the importance of things; I like to give equations in silly ways that make it more approachable and set them up to succeed. And when they get that little bit of success and they run with that that is the best. People have such negative attitudes towards math they have bad history and to plant finally a positive memory is my favorite part. 

Which do you like better, teaching or working the math help desk?

I like the desk better. They’re both good, but I like the lack of structure at the desk. You don’t know what you’re going to get and I don’t have to grade students’ work. 

What hobbies do you have outside work?

Disc golf. I’m really active with the Willamette Disc Golf Club in Corvallis. Back when I was the president of the club, I helped build the course out in Adair. About 20 years ago, we started working on that and we renovated the course in Willamette Park, as well. I used to run a lot of the tournaments and I still  travel with friends to tournaments all over Oregon. 

I have this old 1984 VW Westfalia that we used to travel around in. I blew the engine and put in a new one but it overheated and I was tired of putting money in it, so I just parked it in the backyard. But we have a lot of memories of road tripping in that. 

My friend John Ollis and I play a doubles tournament down in Whistlers Bend every year. This will be our 23rd year playing that tournament together. Our team name is The Rancho Relaxo All-Stars Team. John is Rancho and I’m Relaxo. He has an amazing amount of energy, and he’s one of those urban farmers who has chickens and vegetables. 

My wife and I love exercising together. We love taking hikes, small trips to the coast. We’re also big Blazers fans. We go up to Portland often. One of my friends has season tickets and he shares them with us. We also love doing projects around my house. One of my hobbies is keeping that house from falling down.

We also love playing games. I have a friend who is really into structuring game nights, so on Friday nights we play games with friends. We have a legacy board game called Clank, or we’ll play online Jackbox games on Zoom. That’s something we started back during Covid and we still do it when we don’t feel like going out, or if someone isn’t feeling well. We also do murder mystery nights where we make dinner and take on roles and solve a murder mystery. We also like hanging out at Squirrels in downtown Corvallis catching up with friends. 

In the summer we love camping on the river. We take canoe trips where we load up our canoe with camping gear and try to find our favorite little spot out on the river. 

What’s something interesting about you?

I take the bus to work every day. I’ve been doing that for a couple years now. I try to be an environmentalist in the ways that I can be. I try to make healthy choices for food and for the house and taking the bus. But at the same time I own a 1999 Tahoe. I didn’t want to buy another car so I decided to take the bus. I like it. You get that time to just listen to music or play games on your phone, and I feel safe. No road rage issues. I used to come to work seeing a lot of students racing to campus to get to class on time and I would come into work frustrated and worried about these students getting in accidents. Now I don’t see any of that anymore so it’s a lot better coming into class just rocking out. 

What is something you’d like to tell students?

Students need to schedule time in their day to do homework. Go to the Learning Center and work together with your classmates and come up to the desk for help after you have spent some time on the problem already so we have something to talk about. I joke that I like to be the help desk, not the teach desk. 

We have drop in homework help for any math class, but it’s going to be a short amount of help. If students need more help they should sign up for tutoring, which is free for an hour three days a week. 

There are so many resources available here at the school, but also in life. Always be looking for the people who want to help you. I just want to help them with math, but there are people all over who want to help them and no one has to do this alone. That’s something I love about LB, there are so many resources to help with food and housing and I’m here helping with math. 

The Math Help Desk is available online and in-person from 8am to 7pm Monday – Friday and Saturday – Sunday online from 11am – 3pm. 

For food and other resources, students can contact Rob Camp in the SLC.