Dr. Linda De Roche
By Ashly Bendorovich (Whetstone Staff Writer)
Not many people can say that they have a book published.
Dr. Linda De Roche not only has a book published, her seventh one is coming out later this year.
De Roche, the oldest of six, spent all of her life before coming to Delaware in South Bend, Ind., 90 miles from Chicago.
She wanted to be an archeologist and still loves to read about Egyptian history.
“When I was younger I would go into the museums with my father and most of our time was spent in the Egyptian section,†De Roche said.
She always knew she wanted to be a teacher, and graduated cum laude from Ball State University in Indiana with a bachelor’s in English.
She earned her M.A. and PhD degrees at Notre Dame.
“It was a tight job market in the 1980s and there were no jobs,†De Roche said.
She found a job teaching at Ball State, but wanted a tenure-track position. She got one at Wesley in 1988.
While in college, she fell in love with John Pelzer, and married him two years after she graduated. They were married for 25 years.
Than something terrible and unexpected happened. He died.
“The most stressful life change event is the losing of a spouse,†De Roche said.
After this, she said she did not know what she wanted to do. She thought about giving up on teaching.
“We had so many plans and suddenly I didn’t,†De Roche said.
She took a year off from school and lived in England.
“I missed it so much that I had to come back,†De Roche said. “My teaching is a reflection of my passion for helping young people become their best selves.â€
She enjoys hearing from her students after they graduate. She encourages students to have trust in themselves.
“The most gratifying is when students come back to visit and say how they succeeded,†she said.
De Roche has influenced senior Brook Creighton’s life.
“She encourages me to keep going and that the sky is the limit, that no matter what I can always do better,†Creighton said
She not only helps her with school work.
“She is a person who will listen to me complain for hours and never judge me, she just gives me advice,†she said.
Senior Jessica Collins also had De Roche as an advisor and a professor.
“She is a very personable women who when asked to help, doesn’t hesitate,†Collins said
De Roche said she also enjoys reading, traveling, movies, and likes to cross-stitch.
“Not many people know that, but I find it to be very relaxing counting the threads,†she said.
