Saturday, May 1, 2010

A Thank You from a Student

The surprise gift and Thank You card were left in my office mailbox. These unexpected acknowledgments that I received yesterday came from an excellent, and very hard-working, undergraduate student that had taken my Transportation & Logistics class last semester. She is majoring in Operations Management and will be graduating later this month from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst. I have enjoyed the conversations that we shared very much.

The kindness and thoughtfulness of this student filled me with a very special warmth.

In the Thank You note that accompanied the beribboned box of Lindt chocolates, the student had written:

Professor Nagurney, You are one of the very few women role models that I have had in my life. You are very motivated and successful and inspire me. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be your student. I got the job as a *********** and that is due to your partial contribution from your referral and your inspiration. Thank you so much! I wish you well.

**************
Fall 09 Student


Last night I wrote back to this student that I will always treasure the Thank You note that she sent me and that I know that she will be very successful both personally and professionally.

Teaching is not easy but the rewards of connecting with students, mentoring them, and seeing them begin to realize their dreams are some of the best acknowledgments that a professor can ever receive.