During my time at university I was very blessed to have a professor that I often say helped to shape my future. I guess that is what we should expect after all from our professors, but how often do they actual make a significant mark on either us or our futures? In my case I was very lucky to have Andrew Curran Wesleyan University law professor and a man who I know count on as both a friend and a confidante. Mr Curran was a resident like me of New Haven, Hartford and here is how I believe he turned me into the legal professional that I am today.
Never A Bad Time
During university I struggled somewhat with the idea of an autonomous education, which is something that colleges will often encourage. I always had burning questions and advice to ask for, and most professors didn’t give me the time of day. In the case of Mr. Curran however this simply wasn’t the case and he would regularly make time for myself and some of the other students. In fact even when he wasn’t there in person I always new that the professor was just an email away, and he always responded.
Creativity
Mr. Curran was loaded with passion for the law and he would always look to involve the students in some kind of role play or visual representation of what we would find in our textbooks. Instead of simply having a mock trial of a lawsuit for example, we would actually re-enact what the defense was being accused of, in order to gain a full picture of the case. When I started university I decided to take law in order to get a career in journalism, after just a few years with the inspirational Mr. Curran, I decided to change to a career in law.
Debating
In our first semester I was asked to be involved in a debate, there were quite a few of us who were going to do it and I spent the following week practicing my arguments. When the day finally came to debate, it was the professor that I was up against, who destroyed me and essentially embarrassed me in front of the class. I went back to my dorm that night in a furious mood and vowed retaliation. The next week in the lecture hall I challenged Mr. Curran to a rematch, and whilst I believe I won it is fair to say that it was a draw. In later years I realized that the professor knew that this would be my response and this is why he brutally beat me in front of the class, in order to get a reaction, which of course he did. The point here is that from the word go this was a man who knew exactly what I was about, he knew what he could expect from me and he knew how to get the very best out of me. This familiarity is how he was able to positively shape my future.
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