Throughout our college career we will have many different classes with many different professors. There will be classes and professors that we don’t like and ones that we do. As we move on though school, forming relationships with professors has the ability to alter not only our academic future but also provide opportunities for employment both during and after we graduate with our undergraduate degree. One professor that has made a profound impact on me personally is Dr. Rule in the Animal Science department. When I first took Dr. Rule’s Domestic Animal Metabolism class in 2015, I didn’t know how important taking that class would be to my future. After taking his class, Dr. Rule quickly became a mentor to me. He was who I looked towards for advice when it came to my class schedule, insight on possible extracurriculars, and even his opinion on graduate school. In 2016, I got the opportunity to work in Dr. Rule’s research lab. Through there I got to meet other faculty and staff, learn how to apply material that I learned in class but also gain some much needed experience. This year, I got to work as Dr. Rule’s TA for the same Domestic Animal Metabolism class that I took a few years ago. As a TA, I have learned how to be a better student as well as teach others how to be better students. During this same time, Dr. Rule has also provided valuable letters of recommendations for graduate school. As students, a terrific letter of recommendation from a professor could mean the difference between you and someone else getting the job or the spot in the program you want.
Although Dr. Rule was the professor that I became closest to and valued most as a student, each department has a professor that can be your mentor. Sometimes all it takes is a knock on their door or an email to start forming a relationship that can change your career.
-Lacey Hill
