In the roundtable, I will share my experience at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) — a mid-sized state college in the rural Midwest. I will focus on my challenges and opportunities as the sole Middle East specialist working with a distinctive student population. In my position, I am a generalist out of necessity. In most cases, if there is anything students need to learn about the Middle East or Islam, I must teach it. This can be both daunting and rewarding. For example, I am the one who decides what makes up Middle Eastern studies at UWSP. Furthermore, many in the community are interested in the Middle East, so I have a ready audience outside of the university. One significant challenge is that with no other Middle East scholars on campus, I must look to other UW campuses and to other colleges in the region to create a community of scholarly peers. With regard to our student body, UWSP has few minority or foreign students, but there are other ways to measure diversity. Many of our students come from rural communities and small towns. Also, many are the first in their families to attend college. Most significantly, many UWSP students have served in recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—providing a valuable perspective in my classes. I hope that many will find something in these experiences to complement the insights of others on the panel.