Those who used to do, teach

KEVIN BELL,

UM professor of Art

"Mom, Dad ­— I'm dropping out for a little bit," said UM professor of fine art Kevin Bell.  He was a confident 21-year-old college student at the time, passionate about development projects.

The reception was scratchy from the phone booth in Nairobi, Africa, where Bell was studying as an exchange student at the University of Nairobi to finish the last year of his African History degree. After meeting a man in a bar, he had a new plan for the next year of his life: building a solar-powered elephant fence.

"I was a history major — I didn't know how to build a fence," Bell said.

With an arsenal of written and oral instructions and 40 workers from the village, he set out on the construction of the 9-foot-tall electric fence.  It ran the perimeter of a small village's crops located in prime elephant country. Without the fence, elephants would come in during the night and eat all the corn. Once erected, the fence was wobbly, but standing.      

The solar collectors worked for a day before breaking due to the dust and dirt. Young, passionate and ever-confident, Bell packaged up the panels, carried them on his back and took a bus to a bigger village for a repair. When he returned four days later, hungry elephants had downed the fence, and entire sections of the wire were gone. Samburu warriors were just leaving the village as Bell approached. He greeted them, admiring their large jewelry. It only took three or so necklaces before Bell recognized the material — it was his fence.

The fence was eventually repaired and electrified, but Bell lost his passion for the work.

"It made me realize the discouragements," Bell said. "After so much hard work sometimes things didn't go right."

So he moved back to the states, finished his degree, then worked as a sailboat delivery boy. He sailed boats from the east coast down to the Caribbean to meet the boat owner. He then became restless and moved to Alaska to work as a backcountry ranger. When he tired of that, he started a sea kayaking company.

"I didn't know what I wanted to do, so I did all kinds of stuff," Bell said.   

After owning the business for 10 years, Bell had won staring contests with humpback whales, urged seals off his kayak, and been stranded with clients on an island for days at a time.  With a growing family and passion for painting, he pursued his master's degree in art and became a professor.  

"I wanted to live in the world of ideas again," Bell said, "Now I had something to say about the world in my art."

SAMIR BITAR,

UM professor of Arabic language and culture

Buried in a seven-page resume reflecting 13 years of teaching, — stacked with academic awards and workshops ­— Samir Bitar's pre-academia work history: engineer and sandwich shop owner.

Bitar is a UM professor of Arabic language and culture who created and teaches the Arabic minor. His simple mantra, "Do your work then let life happen," led him through every dramatic career change.

At 21, Bitar finished a 5-year engineering degree and was quickly snatched up by a firm in Saudi Arabia.  No job could keep Bitar for more than three years before another company offered a promotion that stole him away.  Bitar worked as a civil structure engineer, site engineer, liaison, project manager and software engineer.  

It was his motivation and focus that propelled his career forward.  

"If you're not disciplined, a building is going to fall down," Bitar said.

After eight years in Saudi Arabia, Bitar moved to San Antonio, to accept another promotion, which he did not anticipate would be the last of his successful career. In 1989 the first Gulf War began and Bitar was dismissed.  

"I was laid off for who I am," Bitar said. "I was disheartened and distraught. I would not work for anyone else."

So Bitar decided to work for himself.

He bought a storefront in Missoula and started his own restaurant: Pockets Sandwich Shop.

"America is the one country where you can do something for 15 years and then completely change," Bitar said.

After spending a decade working in rigid positions, Bitar found joy in the freedom of being self-employed.  Cooking was one of his favorite pastimes, along with making people happy.  

Pockets Sandwich Shop was open six days a week serving American and Mediterranean cuisine.  Customers, many of them regulars, could order a turkey and tomato pita or hommus on a falafel sandwich.   

The business grew over four years, gaining customers, menu items and financial stability.  But when it became stagnant, Bitar felt, restless and began volunteering at his children's school.  

"The feeling of being stuck on a plateau went away," Bitar said. "The students lit up like light bulbs, and you cannot put a value on that."  

Through a serendipitous chain of events, Bitar went from volunteering in an elementary school to being a university professor.

From engineer to business owner to Arabic teacher, Bitar's career history is as diverse as the Pocket's menu. The one continuity is his education, dedication and ability to let life happen.  

CREIGHTON JAMES,

UM adjunct professor of voice

There are curious similarities between Creighton James' day job as a construction worker and evening position teaching voice lessons — the name of his business is one of them.