Teaching Experience

Courses as Instructor of Record at Wayne State University

These are courses for which I designed the syllabus, created all course materials, including lectures, assignments, and tests, delivered all lectures, and completed all grading independently. I enjoy teaching, and I greatly value the opportunity to impact my students' education and lives. My student feedback reflects success in this endeavor; my students enjoy my energetic, personable, and caring approach to teaching.

Introduction to the Anthropology of Business (ANT 2050)

• Taught independently 10x from Fall 2022 through Spring/Summer 2026. Seven of these appointments were in person, and three were online.
• This class meets Wayne State's General Education Global Learning requirement.
• Wayne State University is the birthplace of Business and Organizational Anthropology. The subfield of cultural anthropology was created by Dr. Marietta Baba during her time at Wayne State, and it has grown in international popularity in the decades since.
• In my version of the course, I center the usefulness of qualitative methods and an anthropological perspective in fields that usually use quantitative methods and profit-centric models almost exclusively. The structure of the course is survey style, covering modules on white collar and corporate work, business and labor organization, retail, products, and goods, the entertainment industry, and nonprofits and causes. I hold students' attention by featuring topics selected to pique a broad range of students' interests, including lectures on Netflix, anime, and more!

Introduction to Anthropology (ANT 1100)

• Taught independently twice; once in Winter 2025 and the other in Fall 2025. Both were in-person sections.
• This class meets Wayne State's General Education Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Social Inquiry (SI) requirements.
• This is a standard four-field introduction to anthropology course covering biological anthropology, archaeology, cultural anthropology, and linguistic anthropology.

Introduction to Biological Anthropology (ANT 2110)

• Taught independently online in the Spring/Summer 2024 semester.
• This class meets Wayne State's General Education Natural Science Inquiry (NSI) requirement.
• Modules in my syllabus include genetics and evolution, modern humans, primates, fossils and skeletons, and early humans.

Courses Assisted at Wayne State University

• Lost Cities and Ancient Civilizations (ANT 2200)
  • Graduate Teaching Assistant under Dr. Tamera Bray, Winter 2023; online
• Introduction to Anthropology (ANT 1100)
  • Graduate Teaching Assistant under Dr. Barry Lyons, Winter 2023; online
• Introduction to the Anthropology of Business (ANT 2050)
  • Graduate Teaching Assistant under Dr. Lauren Hayes, Winter 2022; in person
• Introduction to Biological Anthropology (ANT 2110)
  • Graduate Teaching Assistant under Dr. Julie Lesnik, Fall 2021; online

What My Students Have to Say!

"I am going to walk away from this Anthropology different from when I started this class. This class makes me want to dedicate more, push myself harder than ever before because somewhere in the world there is someone who will do everything for certain opportunities! For me, that's motivation! That's make me value things more, have different outlook on things that for me would be normal. Challenge myself to create different norms from what has always been my culture. I guess this is why everyone should have a little insight on the anthropology way of thinking. It honestly just makes me want to know more, see more and be more." -First generation Business Anthropology student, Fall 2022

"Jocie completely changed my perspective on business anthropology. Before taking this course I was not interested in the subject at all but her ability to present things in a way that was interesting and relatable to a lot of the students was encouraging and made the subject more interesting to study." -Anonymous Student Evaluation of Teaching, Business Anthropology Fall 2022

"I just want to say that I genuinely enjoyed taking your class. I actually looked forward to the lectures, unlike my other major required classes. You are actually so good at teaching. You are really funny too which makes me pay attention to the lecture. I think your unique personality and humor appeals to students. Your class felt like a friend talking about fun stuff rather than a serious class taught by a professor. Overall, your class reminded me of the school days when learning used to actually be fun." -Anonymous Student Evaluation of Teaching, Introduction to Anthropology Winter 2025

"Professor Osika is a very personable and well educated individual with so much knowledge in not only this content, but also relating content as well. She made everyone including myself feel welcome and accepted in the classroom. She would also respond to emails quickly." -Anonymous Student Evaluation of Teaching, Business Anthropology Winter 2025

"The course was very interesting. I felt like I learned a lot that I needed to know before going out into the workplace. It is definitely information that people need to learn. I loved having this professor. I enjoyed coming to class mostly based on how she taught. She made me actually want to learn the material and listen to her while she was teaching." -Anonymous Student Evaluation of Teaching, Business Anthropology Fall 2023

"She is capable of making complicated ideas both comprehensible and interesting, and I found myself looking forward to her class each week. Professor Osika differs due to the extreme dedication she attaches to her students." -Business Anthropology Student, Fall 2023

"Jocie possesses an uncommon collection of traits that make her uniquely qualified as a professor. She is influential, engaging, passionate, meticulously ethical, and most importantly, she demonstrates strong leadership skills. The time I had in her class was a joy, and one thing that was abundantly clear to me was that my peers felt the same. It is commonly said that you are who you associate with, and I am proud to carry forward a bit of Jocie Osika with me. Many of her lessons have stuck with me, shaping what I envision for my future, and it cannot be overstated the impact she has had on myself, and undoubtedly others at this university. It is also said that academia is built on the shoulders of giants, and while only time will tell if Jocie is a giant herself, she is most certainly giantlike." -Nontraditional retired veteran Business Anthropology student, Winter 2024

Mentorship Experience

I have always been interested in compassionate leadership, and that extends to opportunities to mentor others and participate in service in academia.

Undergraduate Research Assistant 2025-2026

• Trained and supervised an undergraduate research assistant in transcription and data analysis by having weekly meetings on research methods.
• Mentored an undergraduate student's research by having weekly meetings on an independent research project on welfare and religion.

Acting Steward 2023-2026

• Acted as an academic steward for undergraduate honors students in Biomedical Engineering, Sociology, and Pre-Medical programs by regularly meeting with them about degree progress and career planning and preparation.

Peer Mentor Internship Summer 2023

.

• Completed a position mentoring undergraduate criminology students from around the country for the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in the study of Communities, Crime, and Criminal Justice in Detroit (C3JD) program at Wayne State University
• Directly supervised three REU C3JD students throughout the duration of the program, including a quantitative project on Arab Americans' opinions on police officers.
• Designed and facilitated workshops on cover letters and personal statements and for graduate school applications as well as a presentation on grad school finances

Service

• Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute (MPSI) Graduate Student Organization Co-President - August 2025-August 2026
• Acted as a liason between MPSI faculty, staff, and fellows and trainees; helped to facilitate a collaborative and friendly environment among fellows and trainees
• Session Organizer and Chair; Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting - March 2026
• Session Title: Anthropology Tward the Future of Child Welfare
• Presenters: Patty Flores, MSW; Jocie Osika; Robin Valenzuela, Ph.D., Cathleen Willging, Ph.D.; Discussant Jeff Maskovsky, Ph.D.
• Anthropology Graduate Student Organization (AGSO) Board Member - May 2023-May 2024
• AGSO Media Director; Managed all AGSO social medias, created fliers and advertisements for events
• Participated in board meetings and activities including organizing the annual Transformations conference and building funds