Above and Beyond

Just last week, I finished my last paper of junior year.

‘How is this possible?’ you might wonder. ‘You are less than three weeks away from the start of your senior year!’

Be that as it may, I stand by my initial statement. As bad as it might make me sound, it is at least a testament to a wonderful and compassionate professor–one of many I’ve had at W&M.

At the end of the spring semester during finals, the hard drive of my computer finally sagged under the great weight of all the collegiate papers and knowledge I’ve put on it (read: iTunes music and pictures). I was mid-way through final papers for two upper-level English courses, in addition to having more finals later in the week and some personal stuff going on at home, so I was really overwhelmed.  I went to my professor (who will remain nameless to protect her identity) and told her my situation, and after she asked how I was handling the stress and told me to take care of myself, she gave me an extension. She has remained patient with me over the course of the summer as I’ve kept writing the paper in baby installments (I thought I’d have it finished by June–ha), checking on me via email to see how everything’s going. My library book is overdue but the paper is finally complete, just in time for the fall semester. I’m taking my senior seminar with this professor, so I’ve finished my final essay just in time to start writing more papers for her in a few weeks. (I’m sure she’s thrilled to hear that, too.)

As college has progressed, I’ve become more comfortable with putting myself out there in class and getting to know professors. Even before you realize it’s totally worth it to make the effort, though, W&M faculty members are determined to make sure you’re not a faceless name to them. My first lecture class of college, many moons ago, it seems, was an intro Geology class with about 120 students. I walked in on the first day with my roommate, terrified of the lecture hall and all the “big kids” around me. My professor quickly dispelled my fear of the lecture hall by coming around and shaking all of our hands. As creepy as this might sound, she then took out her camera and requested to take everyone’s picture holding a sheet of paper with his/her name written on it. I left class amused, wondering what she planned to do with the pictures. When I came back 2 days later for the next lecture, she had all of our names memorized. That kind of memorization is a feat I can barely accomplish for a graded Art History exam, but my professor did it to make us feel at home.

W&M professors are always going above and beyond the call of duty.

Categories: Academics, Student Blogs
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