All departments have professors, but there are professors and then there are professors. The BIC is chock full of professors.
Why the odd emphasis? Even our newest BICers should understand the meaning within those italics.
These people who have given of themselves to help us learn are truly unique. They all have found some area of academia that intrigues them and manage to explain it in a way that intrigues students, too.
Case in point: I am in my third year of taking Chinese. Random, right? Why study a language whose native-speaking population is so very far from Texas? Answer: A BIC professor.
My major, linguistics, requires me to study both a western and a ‘non-western’ language (think Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, etc.). At the end of my freshman year, I was searching for which non-western language to study. In the midst of my searching, I attended a few World Cultures II large group lectures about the history of ancient China by Dr. Wang. The way he spoke about and described the culture of the people who spoke Chinese communicated his enthusiasm, and I was excited, too. I was intrigued enough to try to understand their language. Three years later, and I’m still chasing that goal.
The interest our BIC professors take in their students is another area in which they exceed expectations. Many professors have said at the end of a semester, ‘Come back and visit us,’ and they actually mean it. As a senior, I get to attend the class of only one BIC professor. When I drop in on or run into my past BIC professors, it is always so fun because they truly care. I have taken my fair share of classes, but only in the BIC have I been invited to a professor’s breakfast table for tea or into his living room for a shared meal, a human pyramid (thank you, Dr. Long) , and a movie.
Our professors are not just invested in us as individuals, but in the entire BIC as well. They give their time to our community. Our professors attend BIC Cafes, opening themselves up to the myriad of questions we have about their lives and professions. We also get to see them, and compete with them, in our beloved BIC Bowl in the spring, a tournament-style trivia contest in which our professors make up one team.
Why am I telling you what you already know? Because soon seeing BIC professors will not be a part of your schedule. In a few years, when you find your BIC classes winding down, you will have to go out of your way to see them. So take advantage of what you have now. Connect with your professors in class and use their offices hours. As BICers, we have the privilege of learning from some of the most engaging and invested professors on campus. Let’s take advantage of this gift.
{One article is nowhere near enough space to give our professors the recognition they deserve. I can think of many more professors who deserve shout outs. Who comes to your mind, and why do you love them? Share in the comments below.}
Kara Blomquist is a senior BIC student majoring in linguistics.