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A couple posts ago I promised myself to express thanks to people that matter to and have great impact on me. As I happened to get in touch with a few former teachers and professors of mine at the Y these past few days, I am going to reflect and write a few anecdotes on them. There are six particular teachers/professors that I truly appreciate at the Y.
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As for the other professor Dr. E hooked me up with, it was Dr. Dallin Oaks. No, he's not the apostle but his son. It was another random acquaintance that I was in Dr. E's office when he came in and said he was looking for a TA and I couldn't believe I had the courage to recommend myself there on the spot when I didn't quite have a clue who he was and what I was getting into. Since then I had tutored four sections of a total of about 360 students of mostly English and English Language majors on English linguistics while not being a native English speaker myself! I was quite nervous to begin with and I was horrified to substitute for Dr. O when he was not around but it turned out to be such a great learning and teaching experience that I felt like I've got more out of it than most of my graduate courses. It solidified my love for linguistics as a subject.
Both Dr. Christensen and Dr. Bourgerie in the Chinese department have given me ton of opportunities to work and gain experience on Chinese teaching and translation work both on campus and off. Dr. C often talks to me on a personal level while Dr. B on a professional level.
Dr. Anderson was rather intimidating when I first met him, and to be honest, maybe it's his bow tie. I'm so blessed to be hired to teach at the English Language Center to gain insight on the art of language teaching while having a blast with the fellow teachers and the great students from around the world. I will never forget I was really amazed that I could somehow communicate and teach the level zero community English class when some of the students almost did not speak a word of English. I also loved one of my grammar class so much that I treated them all to a buffet meal after the last day of school. How can one not love them when they gave me a standing ovation to welcome me into the classroom as they found out I passed my thesis oral defense! And Dr. A at one point tried to help me from losing my job because of my change of work status.
The last amazing teacher and friend of mine is Sister/Mrs./Dr. Tinney. I was not excited about an ESL advanced academic writing class I had to take as an international student. But Sister T was very serious but at the same time easy about the class that I did enjoy it. She talked to me a lot out of class and shared her personal stories in words and in a book she published. She offered to let me attend the LDS Book Association Convention several years in a row that I thoroughly enjoyed and received many goodies from it. I was pleasantly surprised she took her time out of her busy PhD work schedule to attend and cheer for my thesis oral defense. I'm glad I passed and otherwise it would be so embarrassing and disappointing to both her and myself.
I feel strongly about putting these on record which probably do not mean much to anyone else and I doubt it if anyone is still reading up to this point. Nevertheless I cannot help but still am in awe that these mentors would go out of their ways to help students succeed and many of them have become personal friends. Having one or a couple in life is a miracle itself, let alone having half a dozen. This is what I cherish most while attending the one and only BYU. A BIG THANK YOU to you all!
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