Communicating and empathizing with different cultures has always been a driving force in Professor Zach Feere’s life. An Antioch native with a close knit family, Feere dove into researching and learning about different cultures. “I’ve always been interested in the material culture of other places,” Feere said, “my whole family has been interested in history and culture.” Feere started his academic journey at Los Medanos College and transferred to Sonoma State University, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in English.
Once he graduated, Feere wanted to learn more and began his journey of obtaining two master’s degrees, one in mass communications and media studies from San Diego State University and communication studies from San Jose State University.
Feere later decided to live in Israel and obtain another master’s degree in Middle Eastern studies from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. “I wanted to study the Middle East, in the Middle East,” said Feere, “I made a lot of friends, the professors were really interesting.”
During his time studying in Israel, Feere enjoyed learning Hebrew, backpacking and enjoying the community and culture. “The experience was intense,” Feere said, “but it was effective in that regard. I made a lot of friends, my classmates were fantastic, and the professors were interesting.” Once he travelled back to the states, Feere felt lost.
He was looking for direction, but didn’t know where to start. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life,” Feere said, “I thought I was gonna work in advertising and PR. I spent some time working in the field, but I really didn’t enjoy it. I was sort of in a quarter-life crisis.” That’s when he contacted a previous professor, Professor Cynthia McGrath and asked about teaching at LMC.
“We met here on campus and she proposed the idea of us teaching the next semester.” Once Feere stepped foot in the college classroom and setting, he immediately found his niche. “I knew right away, this is what I want to do.”
Currently, Feere is a full time faculty member at LMC in the communications department. He has taught at LMC since 2008. In the classroom, Feere shows his compassion for different cultures, and effectively demonstrates why communication is vital in everyday lives. “Feere is not only compassionate but he’s very rigorous towards learning the material,” Seth Correia, a student of Feere’s argumentation and debate class said.
“He’s optimistic, yet he’s always pointing out the learning lessons when it comes to our debates. He’s got a great sense of humor, he’s very empathetic all while managing to get his point across when it comes to a lecture. You can really tell he loves his job and he goes above and beyond with his work,” he said.
Apart from teaching, Feere is an avid traveller and takes trips all across the world. This winter, he will be going to Japan with his wife. “We travel as much as possible,” Feere said. Another hobby that Feere has is collecting historical African art. “I’m a pretty serious collector,” Feere said, “I have a large collection at this point. There’s probably over 100 pieces. My house is full.” Professor Feere makes up the culture of LMC.
With empathy, compassion and understanding of culture and the world around him, he is able to meet students at LMC right at our level. His sense of humor keeps students engaged, while his intelligence inspires those who decide to take a communications class.
His love for teaching, history, art and culture has shaped his life and teaching style so that current and future students can be ready for the world, with bright eyes, a clear conscience and a heart full of empathy.
