ENTRY # 34 There was professor at RIT named Erik Timmerman. No one – no one – was ambivalent about him. Either adored or despised, he was opinionated, and in your face. We had good conversations. I told him that he was formidable, he told me I intimidated him. (6 foot plus rotund giant that he was. Me, a chihuahua barking at a great Dane). He made it clear whether or not he thought what you said was idiotic, or just plain wrong – in class, in a crowd. But hed also respectfully concede a point if you made a good and reasoned argument. One Spring day – nearing graduation – I stopped by his office to tell him that Id met two grads whod asked after him. “Really?” He smiled and confided that Spring made him sad. “Every year, all these students leave…and I am still here. I don’t think they remember me.” Remember you? Dude. Hard ass that you were, I remember your scant praise. Your jokes. Your presence. And whether or not my classmates liked you, I have no doubt they remember you. All this because I I.M.ed John Dunn this morning. Because he’s graduated and I still want to know he’s doing alright. The students leave. I remember them: Blake Dubin, Billy Markert, Les Howell, Midge, Sally Reich, Ina, Kamel, Bryan, Chris Meenan, Andy Acello (though he’s still around)…I think they remember me. I hope fondly. It goes both ways.
comments
Liz, ell@mail.rit.edu, http://www.it.rit.edu/~ell/mamamusings/, , 24.93.24.53, 1057336843, 2004-05-16 20:41:17, I have a list, too, but it has surprisingly little intersection with yours. (Though I suspect that intersection will enlarge rather than shrinking over time.)
Brendyn, bwa5099@it.rit.edu, http://www.rit.edu/~bwa5099/blog/, , 24.61.47.47, 1057343680, 2004-05-16 20:41:17, I try to keep in touch with professors who have had even the slightest impact on my life. Not because I feel like I have to, but because I just feel a connection towards them and what theyve done for me. Im sure, as you know, I like to befriend those that teach me. Why? Why not, theres more to learn from them than what they teach in class. Those kind of teachers, the ones who go above and beyond, are the ones that are remembered, and asked after. Those are the ones that make the differences in lives, impacting their students and peers very strongly, sometimes even more than theyre able to comprehend. Its breaking the barrier between student and teacher that counts, and when that happens, Ill never forget the person.
billy, billy.markert@trip-chronic.com, http://www.trip-chronic.com, , 216.203.181.36, 1080234140, 2004-05-16 20:41:17, I for one haven’t forgotten many of my profs at RIT. Lessee…of those I do, here are a few that impacted me seriously: Oyzon (what to do with a brick)Pete Lutz (wrote my first network app in one of his classesBruce Hartpence for teaching me all about different encoding techinques (and some of his comments at the Industrial advisory board of 2000)Steve Kurtz for giving me a great foundation for Image Processing.Mike Yacci for teaching me how to engineer technology change in an office (or some sort of entity)Elissa Spada (now Weeden ive heard) for making DBs so interesting (i was just explaining them using the restaurant analogies the other day).Jeff Lasky (for being the professor i just hated).Daryl Johnson for providing many excellent and informative lessons on system administration.And of course I cant forget Bill Stratton…not only for his classroom knowledge, but for encouraging me along my final year at RIT. Most of these profs were in IT, but there are others that were equally important. I have to mention Richard Newman of Liberal Arts for giving me such a passion for Modern History.All the philosophy professors I took classes with, as well as that one guy who taught architechture…the river and the road…big Venturi fan.(i feel bad, because it was probably the best class i took at RIT and I cant remember the blokes name) I owe much of what Im doing now to you all. Dont think that youre forgotten in the least.
weez, elouise@oyzon.com, https://weez.oyzon.com, , 24.24.41.52, 1080235133, 2004-05-16 20:41:17, Billy, good to hear from you. I still have the brick. Shoot me an email and tell me stories.
Matt Boncek, matt@westerndharma.com, 216.31.230.2, 1080237593, 2004-05-16 20:41:17, Billy just sent this to me and I dont have a lot of time to list everyone. But I agree, I think we all remember our professors and how they impacted our lives. I can actually say that on a daily basis I do things professionally that make me think of one professor or another. Just yesterday I was talking to a few people about some classes and professors from RIT. Considering Im living in California now they must have made an impact.
weez, elouise@oyzon.com, https://weez.oyzon.com, , 24.24.41.52, 1080262237, 2004-05-16 20:41:17, Glad to hear it. You dont know how happy I am to hear from you both.