With Teacher Appreciation Week and Teaching and Joy month celebrated each May, we wanted to take some time to reflect on what makes our favorite teachers and professors so great. At CSU, we are blessed to know many of the nation’s best and most knowledgeable professors! They make each and every one of our courses a place of interest and growth for our students.
We all have that one teacher or professor, either from a class we took recently or someone who taught us decades ago, who made an impact on our life. If we are really blessed, we’ve have more than one memorable teacher.
We asked CSU students to tell us about their all-time favorite teacher or professor and received some awesome responses!
“One of my all-time favorite instructors is one of my current professors, Michael Mellette. I absolutely love the way he expounds the material in the Z10 standards for accident prevention…superb!” -Timothy Smith
“One of my favorites is Professor Legacy. She was very helpful and informative about what needed to be fixed and helped whenever needed.” –Heather Rose
“Dr. Barabara Wise taught me more about who I can if I just stop to breathe. Dr. Renee Courey taught me that when she was working with me, it was the most important thing she could be doing with her time.” –Charles McLeod
“My all-time favorite teacher was my psychology teacher in 12th grader, Tinker Hillman. He explained to us at the beginning of the year that he didn’t care if we came to class or not. He would not turn us in for skipping class. The only stipulation was that if you skipped his class and missed work, you were not allowed to make it up. That seemed fair enough. He was always one of those teachers that everyone liked. Sadly, he passed away a few years after I graduated. Looking back and trying to figure out why he never turned anyone in for skipping his class, it finally dawned on me. As adults, we are responsible and accountable for ourselves. When we are not where we are supposed to be when we are supposed to be there, there are consequences. So, at the time we all thought he was just one of those laid back teachers, but in reality he was teaching us an invaluable lesson.” – Darnell Davis
“Mr. Chrismer was my 9th grade government teacher. He used rhyming tools to help us remember things. One of my favorites was his rhyme for how the justice system works, which I still remember!” –Scott Gable
“My favorite professor was my criminal justice professor, Mr. Allaman, at the community college I attended before CSU. He was a detective for the local law enforcement agency. He never went by the book and always related our lessons to real life. There was never a class I can’t remember him smiling and laughing with us. He always told us that we could always talk to him if we needed advice but to keep in mind that he was a cop first and our professor second.” –Lori Davis
“Professor Ronald Reinhardt at CSU. He encourages you to be your best and never less. He expects excellence and is not afraid to hold his students accountable. Not only that, he gives meaningful insight into each lesson and shares his knowledge and experience. I have had him twice. He is by far my favorite.” –Amber Tate
Thank you to each and every person who takes the time, patience, and heart to teach students. Teaching truly is a labor of love and we are grateful for the teachers before us, the teachers around us, and the teachers coming ahead.
What made your favorite teacher or professor stand out? We’d love to hear about them in the comments below!
