A Belated Shout-Out to my Awesome Professors

Hello everyone and Happy New Year!  I have been home in New Hampshire for a little over two weeks after surviving finals week and am somehow just sitting down to write this post!  I wanted to thank two of my professors in particular for going out of their way to help me during the last few weeks of the semester.

As you know if you've read some of my previous posts, singing in the Liturgical Choir at Saint Mike's is my absolute favorite activity on campus.  During the Thursday of finals week (December 18), Deacon Lino Oropeza was ordained into the Society of Saint Edmund.  As a member of the Lit Choir, I had an opportunity to sing at this ordination (the first of its kind in almost 20 years).  One problem - my final for Human Geography was scheduled to be right in the middle of ordination.  

A bit nervously, I have to admit, I went to Professor Kujawa's office hours and told him how I, as well as one of my fellow classmates, would really appreciate it if he could move the final for us so that we would be able to sing at the ordination.  Moving finals isn't necessarily ideal for professors - it takes up more of their time and they have to reserve a room - so I was happily surprised when Professor Kujawa agreed to let my friend Maureen and I take our final a day late.  The ordination was an absolutely wonderful experience and captured everything that I love about being in Lit Choir - great music, spiritually enriching time with my friends, and that wonderful community feeling that is Saint Michael's.  I was actually a bit sad when it was over (partially because  I had to return to studying, but more so because I had such a great time).  So, a big thank you to Professor Kujawa (as well as other professors who did the same for other students) for being flexible!

I also wanted to thank my psychology senior seminar professor, Professor Kuntz, for giving each student in our class cards on our last day of class.  Though she knew some students better than others, she still took the time to write each student a card expressing her gratitude for our participation in the class as well as her best wishes for our futures (though some of us, including myself, are taking more psychology classes in the spring, our senior seminar is the culminating course for psychology majors).

In my card, Professor Kuntz  included a rock that says "Kindness."  This was particularly special to me for two reasons: one - because I happen to love rocks with words on them (I have a small collection), and two - because it indicated to me that she understood through my actions in class that I do my best to be kind to everyone, and it's always nice to have that recognized!

The card reads "Behind the complicated details
of the world stand the simplicities. - Graham Greene"

While I was quite relieved when I completed all my finals, I have to say that I am looking forward to the upcoming semester.  All the classes I will be taking pertain to either my major or minor, and they all sound quite interesting!  You will certainly hear more about them in the coming weeks.

As always, thank you for reading!  And if you are in a place where it's super cold, stay warm!

-Merrill