Think of one of your professors; one you hear lecturing in front of hundreds of students daily. Now think about that same professor, sitting next to you enjoying a nice prime rib meal. This is the opportunity Zeta presents us with via Professor Dinner. This is held at the Zeta house towards the middle of each semester and allows every girl to ask any professor of her choice to attend. Some ask the teachers who they have the most in common with, some ask the teachers they want to learn their life story, and some (aka me) ask the teachers of the class they need the most help with because hey, you never know when a personal connection down the road might help you out a little.
The day of the actual event, the Zeta house is decked out with an elegant dinner setting and the entire place is spotless. An unbelievably mouthwatering meal is served (shout out to Chef Holly) with cake and coffee as the cherry on top. During the course of the meal, I talked to my professor about countless things, jumping from subject to subject, as if I was grabbing coffee and catching up with a fellow zista. We touched on everything from her life story to my experience with rush to the macroeconomic theories behind the circular flow model. After a lengthy conversation, we had the privilege of hearing the keynote speaker, Professor Clint Tuttle, speak about how he viewed success. His inspirational message about how failure is really what makes you a more successful individual really resonated with the students and the professors in the room.
Although the majority of our chapter does not choose to participate in the Professor dinner, it is in fact a very special event to me. You can always introduce yourself to your teachers after class or attend their office hours if you have a question over some of the material, but having the chance to sit down, relax, and talk about anything in the world with an individual who has so much to teach you is truly an experience you cannot find anywhere else. Yes, it can be scary. Yes, the pauses in conversation can be very awkward; but yes, it is totally worth it. I still keep in contact with the professor I took last semester, because of the special bond we formed that night, which is truly an exceptional relationship to have. I love Professor Dinner because now, when I am sitting in a class of 400 students and Professor Bencivenga is teaching us the differences between equity and debt finance, I can smile because I know that she prefers iced tea over water and followed her college boyfriend to Canada to attend graduate school, unlike the other 399 students in the class. I now know this and more, all thanks to the Zeta Professor Dinner.
ZLAM
Jeana Thompson
PC'13
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| The Zeta living room during this year's professor dinner. |
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