We often see professors and staff recognized for achievements in their careers, but don’t get to see what their life is like outside of classes. Many of Averett’s faculty have very interesting hobbies that they pursue during their free time.

Dr. Marc Muneal, professor of English, has worked for Averett for seven years and is currently completing his eighth. In his free time, he loves to cook and experiment with recipes.

“My main hobby cooking and experimenting with recipes. All my students likely know this because I mention food often in my classes, and I’ve even incorporated cooking into some lessons, getting students to participate,” Dr. Muneal, said.

His passion stems from his childhood in Chaguanas, Trinidad where he cooked with his mother and grandmother.

“I’ve always loved food, and I had a mother and granny who were both very willing to let me help them cook and then, within reason, provided that I wasn’t wasteful or careless, to experiment on my own with new recipes,” Muneal said.

Dr. Scott Herbert, associate professor of biological sciences, has taught at Averett for over three and a half years. In his free time, he likes to backpack across mountains and through hiking trails.

“I am currently working on hiking all trails in the Great Smoky mountains national park,” said Herbert, “I’ve got about one fifth of them hiked already. Gorgeous place, the Smokies.”

He was first introduced to his hobby during his childhood when his family would make trips to the Smoky mountains. He has been hiking since the 90s and has endeavored to do so once a month since 2020.

In addition to hiking, he also has a passion for ham radio that he inherited from his father.

“I also love amateur radio also known as ham radio and have an extra class license. I’ve even been able to use it to help during emergencies when communications were down such as major snow storms,” Herbert said.

Instructor of Mathematics, Dr. Stephen Davidson Is passionate about comic book collecting. This love is from his first experience with the original “Incredible Hulk” TV Series.

“it started when I was barely old enough to speak and my parents showed me the old “Incredible Hulk” TV series starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno. I never looked back,” Davidson said.

He has been collecting comic books for 41 years and currently has over 20,000 in his collection.

“I’ve poured a lot of love, and money, into this collection. I have many of the most-desired books out there, most of them Marvel,” Davidson said.

He credits his love of comics for developing him into the person he is today.

“I learned much from them about how to treat people fairly and with kindness and empathy while also holding them to standards that will benefit them in life,” Davidson said, “If I hadn’t found them, I have no idea who I would be or what I would be doing in life.”

These wonderful examples by Averett’s faculty prove that there is no time like the present to begin a new hobby or pastime.