Jeff, strangely enough I began my college career at Clarkson University as an engineering student… and a friend who I was helping mentioned that I was a good tutor. Somehow things clicked and I ended up in Oswego… and here I am today.

Great post. Like Jason, I was pondering my favorite “a-ha” prof moment and I had this vault to the front. I started as a pre-med major at LeMoyne College. I had a sociology prof call me into her office. As I walked in, she told me to sit down. She then asked why I was studying medicine because it was obvious to her that I wasn’t that interested in it. She then told me to get it over with and switch to education. I had never spoken to her one on one before and to this day I have no idea why or how this conversation came about. But, because of her influence, I switched majors, transferred schools, and increased my love of learning.

I need to find her and thank her!

Thanks for sharing this! Made me think of some of the influential teachers as a student in high school and college.

In high school I can remember my 10th grade global teacher and how hard I worked for him. He taught in unconventional ways and had a “nack” for inspiring us to go the extra mile!

At Oswego (class of 1998) I had a professor that taught an Environmental Science Course. Again this was a guy who made us dig deep and really think about the issues. Basically the students would research a topic and run each class in a discussion style format. If you were not prepared you would get a severe tongue lashing and be asked to leave. Like your professor this got had passion for what he taught – and I still think about the issues even today.

Thanks for writing this! Brought back some great memories for me!