Your instructor, Jim Backlund, was
born in Iron Mountain, Michigan. His first residence was a small home in East
Kingsford, Michigan. After Jim's arrival, his mother and father decided that they
needed more room to accomidate Jim and his older brother Wayne. So, the Backlund
Family packed their belongings and moved 2 miles to Kingsford (still in the state of
Michigan). It is here that Jim was educated and graduated from Kingsford High in
1973.
Jim began college (after a stint in
the U.S. Air Force) at Lake Superior State University in
Sault Ste. Marie, MI in the fall of 1976 as an engineering major and received a
certificate in Mechanical Drafting in May of 1977. Unable to find work in his chosen
field, Jim went back to Lake State where he majored in the Liberal Arts. Since Jim
failed psychology in high school, he was extremely apprehensive to take it at the college
level. Fortunately, for Jim, he had a teacher (Dr. Tim Sawyer) that brought
psychology to life. Jim was hooked. He took as many classes in psychology as
he could before he transferred to Northern Michigan
University in Marquette. After graduating with his B.S. in 1982, Jim began work
on his Master's degree at Western Michigan University
in Kalamzoo, graduating in August of 1983. That fall he began working as an
assessment interviewer at the Battle Creek Adventist Hospital, an acute care facility for
the mentally ill. Still, Jim wanted to teach. He enrolled at Michigan State University and received his secondary
teaching certificate in December of 1987. In August of 1988, Jim accepted the
position of Instructor of psychology at Kirtland
Community College where he has been ever since.
Jim resides in Gaylord, MI with his
wife Mary, a Reading Specialist at the Gaylord Intermediate School. He also is the
father to Zachary age 12, and Maxwell age 6.
Some of Jim's Favorite things:
Favorite mode of transportation:
Polaris 425 Magnum 4X4
Favorite Place in the world = the
U.P.
Favorite place in the U.P. = his grandfather's homestead in Hardwood,
MI.
