I remember a few moments in high school when I walked into a restaurant and saw one of my teachers. I got a kick out of seeing my teachers out living in the real world. My teachers, however, were not always so enthused. It’s as if life in the classroom and life away from the classroom were two different worlds, and the two were not meant to come in contact.
At Gustavus, things are a little different. The average class size is 15 students, far less than any class I had in high school. And because the overall student-to-faculty ratio is 11:1, our campus is primed for meaningful interaction between faculty and students. On any given week, at least one of my mealtimes is shared with a professor or staff member. I have gone with my professors to campus events, to movies, and even for a drink down at Patrick’s. Yes, I am of legal drinking age. On top of that, I am seriously blessed to call many of my professors friends.
Knowing professors on a personal level isn’t always a cakewalk. Sometimes, a paper due on Friday is not the number one priority, and swallowing our pride is not easy on Thursday afternoon when we need to ask a professor for help. The other day, I felt ill after working out in Lund. I happen to exercise at the same time as the professor of my 10:30 class, and when I called in sick, my professor jokingly replied that he didn’t buy it. I figure he should have asked how I was feeling when he saw me earlier that morning!
I’ve been reading essays by Margaret Wheatley recently, and I find her perspective on leadership very refreshing. Her background is in biology, and she fell in love with how the natural world organizes itself. One of her many concepts that stand out to me is that independence is a concept that is rarely seen in nature. Every being is involved in a vast, complex, and messy web of relationships, and no single being acts on its own or in isolation, humans included! It takes a team of people, a complex web of relationships, to accomplish any endeavor. Why would a college education be any different?
Biology professor Pam Kittelson hangs out with her students at the Taj Mahal.
It is a remarkable gift to have someone as intelligent as a Gustavus Faculty member on your team. Not only is a professor a seemingly endless resource of knowledge, critical questions, and a window into our own potential, a professor can be your biggest fan. A professor who knows students on a personal level hopes to see them succeed and they have gone out of their way to help me do so. And when the hard work pays off, I will hold my diploma knowing that I didn’t do it alone.