Professor Who?

As I near the end of my undergraduate career, I've been reflecting lately on the professors that have impacted me the most. Despite my first degree being in Criminal Justice, I have to say that my "Top Three" are not from that department. Though I could cite some of my favorite moments in my studies are from that side of the house, (having a fellow undergrad warn his friend to not get into an argument with me over judicial policy because "she's that good") my favorite academics are not. I shall call them Drs. Goethe, Wagner and Klemperer for the sake of pseudo anonymity.

Dr. Goethe is "the dude". I usually call him Dr. First-Name. He's the affable smart-ass. We make jokes at our own expense and share a wicked sense of humor. I was in his very first class at our university and I've been a fan ever since. He's the professor most students think is "so chill". He's been my research mentor for a couple years now and most of our meetings involve food and beer. Yep, he's that awesome. We've found common ground there and neither of us stands on pretense. Under his direction I've been able to find out who I "am" as a hopeful historian. I know that environmental history is not my bag. At. All. I'm more interested in the people, their stories, their lives. Thankfully, he saw my potential and encourages me to go my own way, find what interests me and run with it. I dare say Dr. Goethe is very nearly a friend.

Then there's Dr. Klemperer. I doubt even he would guess his moniker, though Dr. Wagner would probably guess it in a heartbeat. He's the lovable, socially awkward professor. Dr. Goethe and I privately call him Einstein, affectionately of course. He's the one I mentioned in my previous post that noted the change in my demeanor, post-Iraq. He's brilliant. He's probably forgotten more than I'll ever know. But his lecture delivery often comes across dull and monotone. I found that engaging him, making jokes (and getting my classmates to interact with him as well), would make the lecture a little less painful. I think he appreciated having interaction, rather than the dead, dull, glossed over stares that he received from some of my peers. Something about this shy, awkward man that's old enough to be my father, endeared him to me. I truly care about him.  One semester, I signed up for a class of his, a writing-intensive at that, thinking it was something completely different (turns out the entire class did the same thing!) and didn't have the heart to drop the class. I think somehow I squeaked an A out of that class. I often wonder if he didn't just take pity on us. I always had Dr. K in the fall. Being the culinary lover that I am, I would often bring my latest baking project so school to share with my classmates and Dr. K. He chuckles now when I mention my latest cooking endeavor. I should bring him something soon... He recently found himself in possession of a very rough draft of one of my papers for another class (his box is right next to the intended recipient's) and was so excited about reading my paper, that I had to promise to bring him a final copy. He usually doesn't attend graduation, but since I'm walking, he is. I like to think I'm a favorite of his. I hope he knows he's always been one of mine.

Then there's the formidable Dr. Wagner... It's hard to pin down how I feel about Dr. Wagner. Except to say that it's a mess. First off, I have to say that I'm a little intimidated by him. He's the guy I don't want to let down, academically. I doubt he knows (or would care, really) that he's got somewhat of a cult following among his students. More of us give a damn about him and what he thinks of us than he realizes. He's a self-proclaimed introvert. But you'd never guess it from his classroom demeanor. He's the professor I'd want to model myself after. He seems right at home in front of a class and is very strict in his classroom conduct policies. Dr. Wagner is the one for whom I have the greatest intellectual respect. If I wasn't graduating soon, I'd continue to take his classes. I've rarely found it hard to concentrate on his lectures and I've never considered breaking his "no cell phone" rule, simply because I'm just that absorbed in the material. Unlike Dr. Goethe, I would never consider calling him by his first name. Ever. He's the consummate professional, and always calls his students Mr. or Ms. Last Name. I'd be surprised if he even knew my first name off the top of his head. Once, I sought his advice for primary sources that would relate to research I was doing. Without hesitation, he snagged the key to and snuck a book out of our department's permanent display case. That may not seem like a big deal to most, but to me, it was pretty awesome. Another professor I'd asked simply rattled off names of people to Google who might have written something about it. once.. Gee thanks... In recap, I think I just genuinely like him. Even more, I respect the hell out of him. Not just as a professor, but I think I like him as a person too. He's challenged me to want to be a better student. I hope one day I'll be a peer. He's one of the Top 3 simply because of who he is.

All that having been said, these three gentlemen have influenced me in ways I doubt they'll ever realize. I appreciate them each for very different reasons. And I doubt I'll ever tell any of them that. After all, I'm not very good at explaining myself in person (hell I can barely do it online) and the sheer awkwardness of the conversation would probably nullify any warm fuzzies. Maybe I'll just drop a cookie or two in their boxes with a simple, unsigned "Thanks".