The University of Tennessee tweeted out a tweet yesterday asking “what professor made a difference in your life?” That was easy — It’s Dr. Faye Julian.
Dr. Julian was my speech teacher my senior year. After the first test, she was handing out graded tests. When she put mine on my desk, it had a big red 95% on it. I was quite happy with that and then I caught her famous intense stare. She looked at me and said, “You can do better.”
I thought, “Who is this person? A 95% is pretty darn good.”
But you know what? I did do better.
I loved Dr. Julian. She believed in my talent before I did and pushed me accordingly. If you have ever heard me speak and liked it, thank her. I spoke at the Howard Baker Center at UT a few years ago and she came to hear me. She came up to me afterwards and said, “You’ve gotten better but here are a few things you need to polish up.” Always the teacher.
I saw her a year before she died. I had done a print for the College of Communications & Information featuring a party in Circle Park (near their building). Featured in it were the old Deans. Dr. Julian had been a dean after I left school, so I gave her a low number print. I asked her, “Was I your favorite student?” She said sharply, “No. You were my 2nd favorite student.”
A little hurt, I asked, “Who was?”
She grinned and said, “Peyton Manning.”
I can live with that.
The tweet got me thinking of all the teachers who I’ve had who shaped me, prodded me and believed in me. Miss Floyd (later Mrs. Eubanks) was from Mississippi and was my first grade teacher. She was wonderful. Mrs. Caylor was my third grade teacher and really encouraged my artwork. Mrs. Newman in 5th grade pushed me to be better. Miss Overstreet in high school taught me to think for myself. Miss Patterson picked me to be the cartoonist for the school paper (that worked out well). Mrs. Battle lit my love of history and politics. Coach Clouse taught me that if I work hard enough, I can do anything (chemistry) — I could go on all day.
If you are reading this and are a teacher, know this. Today, you made a difference in one of your student’s life. Hopefully for the best — if you have the passion, you probably did. You may never hear about it in a Facebook post 30 years later. But that kid has been changed and pushed in a better direction.
Dr. Julian died last year, but I still hear her voice frequently. When I am working on something and am not putting out 100%, I hear her say,”You can do better than that.”
And then I say, “Yes ma’am,” and get busy.
What teacher has made a difference in your life?
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