One of the reasons I love attending UWGB was solidified yesterday in the first day of classes. Although I sat through classes that I can see the potential of being extremely challenging for me, I found that the professors impressed and inspired me.
One in particular, a professor for my new science class, spent ten minutes before a relatively large lecture class, shaking hands of students, asking where everyone was from, and asking a question about it that showed he was actually paying attention to your answer.
He told a few jokes to wake everyone up, and started class promptly with the typical first-day-syllabus review. In his syllabus, as in most, he explains his office hours (which are certain times set aside to visit each professor with questions or problems but all of the professors I’ve run into have also had by-appointment times if their office hours don’t work with yours). In the paragraph about coming to his office he mentions a plethora of snacks and soda if you want to come in and have a casual chat.
Later that day, to my surprise, after finding a seat in the Cloud Commons with some friends, this particular professor came up to our table, remembered both my name, and the name of my friend who had been sitting next to me in his class, and his student from last semester who was sitting at our table, asking about our break and if we had already had other classes.
This is not my first cool-and-caring professor encounter. In fact, I’ve had them with almost all of my professors thus far. Last semester a professor I had even called me to his desk after class. I had been tired and did not raise my hand for any questions in the 80 minute discussion. I was aware of this uncharacteristic behavior, and was concerned that he was going to yell at me for not participating. Instead, he wanted to make sure that everything was going ok and asked if there was anything he could help me with.
(These are just two examples, and I hate leaving every other cool professor out, but that might get boring for you. )
In talking to my high school friends at their respective universities about this first day adventure-and all my experiences here at GB- most of them couldn’t believe such professors existed, let alone that I had one on my first day of classes and have encountered so many in just the first few months here.
I guess that’s just something to consider or look forward to at UWGB…it’s not just the classes; it’s what the professors make of them. And a lot of professors aren’t just stopping at hoping you (an actual person and not just your student ID number) pass their class; they are going to do everything in their power to help you- and most importantly- make it fun along the way.