Saturday, July 18, 2015

The Bright Spot of the Day. From Suzy.

I was debating whether to write about my students who think they can get around my no-laptops policy by using their mobile phones under the desk (Guess what? I see you!) or about the latest idiotic IT-System mismanagement case or the admin-flakes driving me insane, when this floated into my inbox yesterday:

Dear Dr. Suzy,
I am very happy to have received my master's diploma, and I would like to thank you for supporting me in the adventure of applying for this master degree.
Yours, Freddy

Oh my. That was a fight to get Freddy admitted. He was missing some paper that can only be issued in Betelgeuse or whatever and the adminflakes didn't want to admit him. I had looked at his application packet and was pleasantly surprised that he seemed to be a young man who knew what he wanted and he wanted into our Master's program. I fought tooth and nail to get him admitted, and had the pleasure of having him take two of my classes. He was always a great participant, came to class prepared and willing to discuss, and was always glad to help the lazy SOBs who were also taking the class.

Geez, and then he takes time to thank me. Makes me be willing to go to bat for the next ones, and my anger at the IT department cooled back down to only boiling [email is not working today and no one is in the support center].

That was the bright spot of my day, Freddy, thanks!

Suzy from Square State

4 comments:

  1. introvert.profJuly 18, 2015 at 11:56 AM

    This is why blogs need a "like" button.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJuly 18, 2015 at 12:07 PM

    Thank you for this, Suzy! The ones like Freddy keep us going.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ogre Proctor HepJuly 18, 2015 at 4:57 PM

    I went to bat for a few students last year. They're still in the program, too early for an email exactly like Suzy's -- and frankly, while I'd greatly appreciate getting one, I didn't do what I did to get that result. Nevertheless, during orientation, they all stopped by my office to give me their thanks in person for helping them get in. That too was unexpected and appreciated.

    But here's the kicker: the other day, I checked their transcripts. They're doing fine, even quite well! I'm still feeling good about that for a variety of reasons, the main one probably being that like Suzy's student, the effort they put in to themselves made good on the effort I put in to them.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Contingent CassandraJuly 18, 2015 at 5:40 PM

    Hurrah! For a lousy day being improved, for your going to bat for Freddy, and for Freddy more than repaying your faith in him (and making the place better on his way through). Congratulations to you both!

    ReplyDelete

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