Ben Shaw’s Approach to Teaching

Teaching wasn’t part of the plan for CFCC Business Instructor Ben Shaw. As a senior loan officer at State Employees’ Credit Union, he spent his days helping people navigate big financial decisions. Many of his clients were CFCC instructors who saw something in him that he hadn’t considered yet.

“A lot of the instructors I gave loans to kept telling me, ‘You’d be a really good teacher,'” he said. “I started teaching part-time, and that turned into full-time. All of my references were CFCC instructors,” he laughed.

Teaching Beyond the Classroom

More than 15 years later, Shaw is still teaching at CFCC and pulling in lessons from all the places life has taken him.

“I never had any intention of teaching,” he said. “But when I look back on it, I’ve always taught in some way. I teach surf lessons, coach beach volleyball, and train with ocean rescue guards. I’m a volunteer firefighter. A lot of it is teaching.”

Not Your Average Lecture

His own college experience shaped how he approaches the classroom.

“I can’t stand just sitting and listening to someone read from a textbook. My least favorite teacher in college did that, and I remember thinking, ‘I can read this myself. This doesn’t help me.'”

That experience stuck with Shaw. Now, he focuses on making the material relatable and real.

“My favorite class to teach is personal finance because I lived it for ten years working at SECU. I’ve seen people succeed and people fall into massive debt. Every chapter, I’ve got a story. That’s what sticks with people.”

In his classes, students work in teams throughout the semester.

“That’s how it is in the real world. You don’t just work with your friends. You work with people from different backgrounds and perspectives, and you have to find a way to make it work.”

He also takes students outside the classroom to show them how businesses operate. His classes have toured Live Oak Bank, Port City Java, Live Oak Bank Pavilion, and Beach Mule, to name a few.

“I think they learn more from seeing it than listening to me. They’re going to remember a field trip a lot longer than they’ll remember a PowerPoint.”

Finding Purpose in the Water

That kind of real-world connection is something Shaw values in and out of the classroom.

“My first summer working at CFCC, I had time off, the first time as an adult. I thought I’d just relax. I was bored out of my mind within a week,” he laughed. “I started working with Ocean Cure, and I’ve been there ever since.”

Ocean Cure is a nonprofit in Carolina Beach that helps people with challenges and disabilities experience the joy of surfing. Shaw, an experienced surfer, has traveled the world for waves but says nothing compares to his work with the organization.

“One of my first fundraisers for them was setting a Guinness World Record for the longest consecutive surfing session in history.”

A moment that stuck with him was working with a young surfer.

“There was a little girl, probably nine or ten years old. After our last wave, she told me, ‘That’s the last wave I’m ever going to catch.’ I said, ‘No, it’s not. Come back next year.’ But she said, ‘I only have six months to live.’ You’d never know it to look at her.”

That perspective also shows up in his teaching.

“You hear something like that and realize you never know what someone’s dealing with. Maybe they’re not visibly struggling, but something’s going on, so I try to have empathy with all my students.”

What a Handshake Can Teach You

“I had a student on their first day of college. They were shy and barely said a word. I remember once they came into my office, and when they shook my hand, I said, ‘That’s not how you do it,'” Shaw shared. “I showed them how to give a real handshake with a firm grip and eye contact. Ever since then, they’ve done it.”

Over time, Shaw watched that student grow, speak up, step into leadership roles, and find their place.

“Seeing someone get over their fears and be successful, that’s what I get out of teaching.”