Describe a significant faculty relationship
Read how a variety of BU students responded to the same question.
Describe a significant faculty relationship.
Victoria Gonzales Canalle, Class of 2023
Victoria’s Answer: I had Stacy Mattingly, in the College of Arts & Sciences for Writing 120, a First-Year Writing Seminar. She was such a great teacher. There were 12 or 13 people in the class and it was the most talkative class I’d ever been in. Very interesting writers, from various parts of the world. Stacy Mattingly created such a great, safe environment. She really pushed us as students and gave great feedback. The way that she trained us to write made me realize that I could actually write well.
Surya Pulukuri, Class of 2021
Surya’s Answer: Dr. Binyomin Abrams in the chemistry department taught my first-year pre-lab. His teaching style was amazing, and he always knew how to take our learning a step further. He had a great way of connecting the things we were learning to neuroscience, the humanities, and even religion, to how he thinks about things that science can’t explain.
That was a really deep and meaningful relationship, to go beyond your own subject matter and talk about your personal beliefs without just impressing them upon students. I worked for him as a course assistant for several years, and I’m still working for him now. I wouldn’t have gone into education research if he hadn’t helped me discover this interest.
Stephanie Gonzalez, Class of 2021
Stephanie’s Answer: The thing that I liked most about the neuroscience program is that the faculty and staff are really well integrated into student life. You’d come into the office and you can talk to the director, talk to the administrator, talk to the lab techs. They all know each other and they all know you. It was like a family. I had a really close relationship with Paul Lipton, who was the director of the program at the time. I’ve cried in his office so many times, “What do I do with my life?” He gave us advice, he’d come to lunch with us, once he invited us to his apartment for a meal. We just talked about neuroscience and our interests. We had a really close relationship with him. I still talk to him often.
Jeff Sagurton, Class of 2022
Jeff’s Answer: All three of my private BU percussion professors: Kyle Brightwell, Tim Genis, and Sam Solomon. One of the unique things about being a music student is you study with these faculty members from the time you first get here to when you graduate. Since I was a first-year student, they have been incredible mentors. They’ve always been super supportive and created positive learning environments. They’ve helped me grow so much as a musician, as a performer, as well as just as a person. They’ve helped me become more mature.
Kevin Reiss, Class of 2022
Kevin’s Answer: I have known Professor David Campbell since my first year when I found him on the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) website; he was looking for student researchers. His work stood out, because it was on the two topics I was most interested in: computer engineering and physics. I kept showing up at his office until I was able to hand him my résumé and shake his hand. I think that showed him that I was dedicated and really wanted the position. I started working for him by compiling knowledge of nonlinear dynamics into Mathematica notebooks, a project which taught me the program Mathematica, which has been invaluable in my career so far. And when I switched into physics, he became my academic advisor. He’s served as a mentor and role model ever since.
Brandy Moser, Class of 2021
Brandy’s Answer: It’s hard to pick just one. I’d have to say Dr. Paula Quatromoni in the nutrition department. My first year, I decided to email professors whose research I thought was interesting. I was nowhere near becoming a nutrition major and wasn’t even in Sargent. Dr. Quatromoni responded within 20 minutes. She had no idea who I was and sent me back this long email, describing her work, asking me questions. It was a very defining BU moment for me, just realizing how open professors are to talking to you about their research, getting to know you, and getting involved with you.
When I joined Sargent for my second major, Dr. Quatromoni became my mentor. I got to study with her for a month in Italy for the Mediterranean diet program, which was a phenomenal experience. She put me in touch with someone at the Tufts nutrition lab where I did my practicum. She wrote my recommendation for grad school. But, you know, I never had Dr. Quatromoni as a professor for a course, except in Italy. She teaches graduate students primarily. But she was so influential in my decision to pursue nutrition, to study abroad, to work in a lab, and to continue on to grad school.
Dena Ciampi, Class of 2022
Dena’s Answer: The social science professor who taught my class first year in the spring, and also over the summer in London: Professor Michael Holm. I really loved his class, the discussions were so insightful. I would go to office hours with questions about the readings or papers that we were writing, and he was always engaging. I remember discussing primary source readings and some of them were hundreds of years old. He helped me see the connections to the present day, even though they were written so long ago.