.
I wish there were more people like Professor Dowd.
Professor Dowd is a prof I had freshman year here at Miami...second semester I believe if I recall correctly. He made class so much fun, and he always seemed to have the perfect way to draw your attention....to suck you into the lesson. I remember being excited about going to class, wondering what was next to come, what inspiring or incredible piece of life Professor Dowd was going to share. I think that's the way any psychology class should be....fascinating and exciting. And Professor Dowd is so good at what he does.
But his teaching skills are only part of what makes Professor Dowd so amazing. He is a very very thin man, which is enough to make anyone suspicious of some kind of disease of one sort of another. As her told our class toward the end of the semester, Professor Dowd is dying from AIDS. He lost his brother a few years ago from AIDS as well.....I remember him saying that his brother weighed 60 some pounds. He and his brother were both diagnosed with a blood disorder and had to have blood transfusions in the early 80s, right before the AIDS epidemic exploded.
Professor Dowd was told he would die within 5 years of his diagnosis of full blown AIDS, and yet he continues to fight (it's probably been about 14 years now), and is on all kinds of outlandishly expensive medications to keep him alive. I never once heard him complain, feel sorry for himself, get angry about it, or anything of the sort. He was always a very compassionate, energetic, fun-loving man. I know his life has touched many in the psyche department, and I'm sure he has touched many people outside the department as well. And there is no doubt in my mind, Professor Dowd is a man of God.
Why, if I had him as a professor my freshman year, am I writing about him now? Well, it seems he has given up teaching on more than one occasion, and then ends up coming back to teach another class. I would imagine it's just because his passion is for students and teaching, and he just can't give it up. I was in the bookstore the other day, and I noticed that he was teaching a senior capstone. And for the class, they were reading one book.......Tuesdays with Morrie. If you know anything about the book (about a relationship between a dying professor and one of his students from many years ago), you will also realize how appropriate it will be for the class, and I know Professor Dowd will stretch it to the max. I don’t doubt that the student’s lives in that class will be changed forever.....and that they will see life (and even death) in a whole new light.
When I saw that Professor Dowd was teaching the class, it just reminded me of what an amazing man he is, and also how I take so many things in life for granted. I, my friends, my family, my enemies, my co-workers.....we could all be gone in an instant. Life should be so much simpler, so much less complicated, and so much more valued than it is. I barely survived 4 years of college without quitting or giving up, and I couldn’t wait to get out, but I’d love to take that class. I even came home and looked on the Miami site to look for openings. It’s full, of course, and that’s ok. I figured if it was meant to be, there’d be a spot.
But I also remembered that for the longest time, I wanted to write a letter to Professor Dowd to let him know how much his class meant to me. It was a lecture hall, so he’d never know who I was personally (introduced myself once), but I’d still like to write. I always told myself that he probably gets a lot of letters from students about the amazing things he’s done for them, but I wonder if maybe everyone thinks that, and then no one really writes or lets him know. I don’t know. But I decided.....I need to just sit down and do it. It’s not too late. So, I hope, within the next few days, to sit down and write a letter to Professor Dowd. After all he’s done for me and what he’s doing for the lives of others, that’s the least I can do.
I’d encourage you to do the same.......take time to write a letter to talk to someone who has meant a lot to you, or who has changed your life in some way, or who has seen you through a hard time or challenged you to see life in a new way. I guarantee you won’t regret it.
I wish there were more people like Professor Dowd.
Professor Dowd is a prof I had freshman year here at Miami...second semester I believe if I recall correctly. He made class so much fun, and he always seemed to have the perfect way to draw your attention....to suck you into the lesson. I remember being excited about going to class, wondering what was next to come, what inspiring or incredible piece of life Professor Dowd was going to share. I think that's the way any psychology class should be....fascinating and exciting. And Professor Dowd is so good at what he does.
But his teaching skills are only part of what makes Professor Dowd so amazing. He is a very very thin man, which is enough to make anyone suspicious of some kind of disease of one sort of another. As her told our class toward the end of the semester, Professor Dowd is dying from AIDS. He lost his brother a few years ago from AIDS as well.....I remember him saying that his brother weighed 60 some pounds. He and his brother were both diagnosed with a blood disorder and had to have blood transfusions in the early 80s, right before the AIDS epidemic exploded.
Professor Dowd was told he would die within 5 years of his diagnosis of full blown AIDS, and yet he continues to fight (it's probably been about 14 years now), and is on all kinds of outlandishly expensive medications to keep him alive. I never once heard him complain, feel sorry for himself, get angry about it, or anything of the sort. He was always a very compassionate, energetic, fun-loving man. I know his life has touched many in the psyche department, and I'm sure he has touched many people outside the department as well. And there is no doubt in my mind, Professor Dowd is a man of God.
Why, if I had him as a professor my freshman year, am I writing about him now? Well, it seems he has given up teaching on more than one occasion, and then ends up coming back to teach another class. I would imagine it's just because his passion is for students and teaching, and he just can't give it up. I was in the bookstore the other day, and I noticed that he was teaching a senior capstone. And for the class, they were reading one book.......Tuesdays with Morrie. If you know anything about the book (about a relationship between a dying professor and one of his students from many years ago), you will also realize how appropriate it will be for the class, and I know Professor Dowd will stretch it to the max. I don’t doubt that the student’s lives in that class will be changed forever.....and that they will see life (and even death) in a whole new light.
When I saw that Professor Dowd was teaching the class, it just reminded me of what an amazing man he is, and also how I take so many things in life for granted. I, my friends, my family, my enemies, my co-workers.....we could all be gone in an instant. Life should be so much simpler, so much less complicated, and so much more valued than it is. I barely survived 4 years of college without quitting or giving up, and I couldn’t wait to get out, but I’d love to take that class. I even came home and looked on the Miami site to look for openings. It’s full, of course, and that’s ok. I figured if it was meant to be, there’d be a spot.
But I also remembered that for the longest time, I wanted to write a letter to Professor Dowd to let him know how much his class meant to me. It was a lecture hall, so he’d never know who I was personally (introduced myself once), but I’d still like to write. I always told myself that he probably gets a lot of letters from students about the amazing things he’s done for them, but I wonder if maybe everyone thinks that, and then no one really writes or lets him know. I don’t know. But I decided.....I need to just sit down and do it. It’s not too late. So, I hope, within the next few days, to sit down and write a letter to Professor Dowd. After all he’s done for me and what he’s doing for the lives of others, that’s the least I can do.
I’d encourage you to do the same.......take time to write a letter to talk to someone who has meant a lot to you, or who has changed your life in some way, or who has seen you through a hard time or challenged you to see life in a new way. I guarantee you won’t regret it.
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