Omar Elsayed
First-year, Mechanical Engineering Major

Getting to know a college professor is probably one of the hardest things a student can do in college. With a class of over 150 students, it can be very difficult to become personal with a professor especially as a first-year student. Yet for me, it is very important to get to know and befriend a professor, rather than just be one of the hundreds of students the professor encounters every day. Tech professors have always been known for being leaders and active researchers and innovators in their respective fields. Not only is getting to know your professor a great advantage in regards to understanding class material, requesting letters of recommendations and applying for a job, but it also provides a great opportunity to learn from the leading authorities of the educational and industrial world.

Being in a class with over 200 general chemistry students, I was very surprised that Dr. Shepler knew my full name, Omar Elsayed. I went to Dr. Shepler during her office hours to ask her about some material that I did not understand. For about an hour, we sat and discussed the issue together. She explained the material thoroughly and made sure that I completely understood the concepts. She even gave me various types of examples to help make sure that I was comfortable with the material. She was friendly and made the material as interesting as possible. During lecture, she would pass by all of the rows of the class to ask how everyone was doing, how was their weekend, etc. By trying to involve everyone, she made this huge class feel as if it were a class of only 20 students! Her cheerful manner was appreciated by the class. Dr. Shepler has been a great teacher this semester and did her best to make this beast of a subject as pleasant as possible. I never thought that I would find a professor as friendly as Dr. Shepler, and I hope there are more professors like her in the future, especially when the insanely hard subjects start to kick in. Dr. Shepler’s friendliness has made me feel more comfortable talking with her (and other professors, too), which I have done quite frequently after class. In fact, I have several ideas on which I would like her input, but only after final exams when life will be less stressful.

In my opinion, I believe that approaching a professor and asking questions is one of the most important things that a student can do during their time in college. College is not only about what is learned inside classroom, lab or even on the job. College is about gaining knowledge from as many sources as possible. Students at Tech have an advantage with access to knowledge found all over campus. Our professors are enriched with research and industry experience which makes them an extremely valuable source of information. All in all, my meeting with Dr. Shepler made me realize that professors are not as unapproachable as they may appear to be. Students should realize that they too are responsible for asking questions and getting to know their professors - constructive dialogue is a two-way street. While not all professors are as inherently friendly as Dr. Shepler, they are nonetheless great individuals who can help guide their students toward their goals and aspirations.