Dr. Anthony Barcellos is a highly experienced mathematics professor with more than two decades of teaching in the field. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of California at Davis, and currently teaches at American River College, where he shapes the mathematical minds of students.

Dr. Barcellos was initially inspired to pursue a career in higher education by his desire to emulate the educators who had a profound impact on his life. His admiration for their meaningful careers motivated him to follow in their footsteps.

What Dr. Barcellos finds most rewarding in working with community college students is their self-motivation and dedication. Students within higher education are not constrained by family expectations or social pressures, making their pursuit of knowledge a genuinely inspiring journey.

Outside of being a community college faculty member, Dr. Barcellos envisions himself as a journalist, a role he has also embraced in the past. He is an avid reader and accomplished writer; he has authored books related to mathematics and even a novel, "Land of Milk and Money," which has established his reputation in Portuguese-American literature.

When it comes to mastering a new skill, Dr. Barcellos would choose to become proficient in playing the piano. If Dr. Barcellos could make one change in the California Community Colleges system, it would be to have the legislature refrain from uninformed alterations to the math curriculum. He believes that external interference without considering the insights of content experts seldom leads to successful improvements.

A surprising lesson Dr. Barcellos learned through his extensive career is that success tends to be proportionate to effort. This realization, although not entirely unexpected, was a wake-up call. For those embarking on a career as a community college professor, Dr. Barcellos advise is:

Nurture a genuine love for your field and cherish the opportunity to share your knowledge with others. Take the opportunity to listen to mentor teachers and learn from the experiences of seasoned colleagues.

An extraordinary fact about Dr. Barcellos - he has had the privilege of dining with Carl Sagan and Bill Gates in 1987, fulfilling a remarkable encounter with two influential figures from history. Although Dr. Barcellos's retirement is scheduled for 2025, he doesn't eagerly anticipate it. Working as a community college teacher has been an honor and a rewarding experience, making it a tough act to follow.