Let me start by admitting that I was once that lost student, pursuing all the worldliness of college life and running from true freedom and joy found in Christ. I doubt my professors then would have guessed that their sleepy, always-forgetting-something student would be in their position one day.
I was an adjunct lecturer teaching a course at a major university when I first felt that pull on my heart towards a full-time academic career. After that course ended, a student asked me if I would write a recommendation letter for her.
Ton of Bricks
I was taken aback by the request. I thought, “I’m nobody on this campus with tons of well-regarded somebodies.” So I asked, “Isn’t there a professor in your major that could write one?” Considering this was an excellent student, I expected there would be several willing professors.
The student’s response hit me like a ton of bricks, “I’ve been here four years, and you’re the only teacher that knows my name.”
The Campus Becomes A Mission Field
That one comment changed my life trajectory, and I realized three important things. First, college professors are what sit between most students and the “real world.” Those sometimes-squirrely students are our future, and the best thing we can do is to be patient, hopeful, joyful, and prayerful.
I pray before and throughout each semester that my students grow in their knowledge and faith, asking the Lord to help me see each of them as He sees them. This quickly changes a college campus into a mission field.
The Impact of a Professor’s Words
The second takeaway is how much words matter. Although I was already feeling pulled towards academia, it was that student’s words that helped propel me forward. While I doubted my abilities to navigate and succeed in the PhD program ahead, I felt like it was the Lord directing me through the words of this student.
If a student’s words can have that kind of impact, it’s not hard to imagine the impact a professor’s words can have on students.
We are called to love
Third, I realized how important it is to see, hear, and get to know students. We know we are called to love one another (John 13:34). What I’ve realized is that it is difficult to love or care for someone if you don’t know who they are, where they are from, or where they want to go in life.
I start every course by telling students I care about them; however, this is meaningless if I don’t take the time to know them. In the busyness of academia this can be challenging, but the old adage is true — people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.
Because I know what Christ has done in my life, how can I not make the extra effort to care for my students and try to see them like He sees them?
