Who is your Professor Schang?

I just received the Ripon College "Note from your Class Agent" today which I think has become somewhat extinct.  In this era of social networking if I want to find out who is doing what I check my Facebook newsfeed and if someone isn't updating their status I can just send them a private message and "check-in".  But anyhoo - I'm getting off track.  This time the "note" included a testimonial from Susan S. Meier '79 on what her favorite professor meant to her and what Ripon College taught her and it gave me pause.  Right off the bat I knew that my "Professor Schang" was Professor Eddie Lowry.  


I had classes with Professor Lowry during my junior and senior years because as DH says I wanted to take Greek "for fun" (hey, I got a minor in Classical Studies out of it and a love for Gustav Klimt too! - it's a long story).  


Not only did I learn to appreciate the roots of the Greek language in English (I also grew a hatred for the buzzword "proactive") and Spanish but I came to appreciate Greek texts such as The Odyssey and The Iliad and discovered so much about ancient Greek and Roman culture (it was easy to get Professor Lowry sidetracked and onto interesting side stories including why ancient cultures liked to make cakes in the form of genitalia) that now I can barely watch Gladiator without judging it for its horrible inaccuracies and instead enjoy the HBO series Rome with appreciation.


Now, keep in mind that I originally chose to attend Ripon because my family didn't know a soul in Wisconsin that could "keep an eye on me", and coming from a place where we knew just about everyone the thought really appealed to me.  That plan bit me in the butt somewhat.  Looking back I had a hard time adapting to Ripon.  Although I grew up in a bicultural household I still grew up in Costa Rica and Ripon was a completely different world for me.  When I arrived at Ripon, I had only been in the country for a year (not counting summer vacations when I went back home).  By this point I still didn't completely grasp what it meant to be an 18 year old in the States - and with no family or friends nearby.  Add to that a roommate who was as empathetic as a cinder block and not an ounce culturally competent (thanks for telling me your dad hated the thought of you rooming with me for being Latina the first week of school) and you had a recipe for disaster.


I did have some pretty awesome floormates (Mel, Erika and Jenny), who were ever so kind and opened up their hearts and homes to me, helped me build a wardrobe that took into consideration Wisconsin weather, took me on countless trips to the mall, aided me with the preparation for my first real college date, first formal, first Lucky Charms diet (and many more firsts including missing an eye!) and tried to indoctrinate me into the Packer fan base.  To this day I hold their actions near and dear to my heart.  


Then I was lucky to find AXO and a group of sisters that didn't always understand me but definitely made me feel accepted and a little less lonely, I only wish now I would have been better able to build bonds with all of them.  


Overall, I learned a lot at Ripon.  I have a better understanding of what the newcomers that I now work with go through (especially their kids) and I can help them navigate those hurdles.  I am pretty good at developing partnerships and getting people who hated each other to work with one another and with me.  I have a constant desire to learn and indulge in it often.  I have a better sense of who I am and who I want to be.  My critical thinking skills are respectable and I like to work outside of the box.  I'm also able to dream big but make the small steps happen to achieve the bigger picture.  My rigidity at school allows me to be incredibly flexible now and my focus is even more honed than before.


I never expected to attend a school where I would have a professor call me after I had missed class to find out if I was alright (cough, cough - I'm sick today) or invite me over to their house for an ancient Roman feast or reassure me that it was okay to be myself, but that is what you got with Professor Lowry and that is what you got from Ripon ~ so, what did you get out of your school and who is your Professor Schang?