Editor’s note: Tar Heel Social members, first-year Vincent Rottger, sophomore Shivan Shah and junior Hunter Sigmund, interviewed Tar Heels on the quad and recorded their response.
May 4th is Teacher Appreciation Day. To show our appreciation to our wonderful Carolina professors and staff, Tar Heel Social members took to the quad to ask students about the faculty members who have most influenced their Carolina experience.
Here is what some Carolina students had to say:
“I’ve had so many amazing professors in my years at UNC, but I want to talk about Dr. Hugo Méndez. He’s my religion teacher and his class Religious Fraud is so interesting. It makes me look forward to getting up and going in person even though it is so early. He has such a unique way of telling us about specific instances of religious fraud and is overall just an amazing professor.” – Clara Dartey-Hayford, sophomore
“We are both in the same introduction to performance studies class with Jackie Olson. It is really helpful being able to feel comfortable, vulnerable and true to ourselves without feeling like we have to present ourselves in a certain way. It’s like we’re all learning from each other.” – Morgan Topol, junior
“She really stresses the importance of learning from your mistakes. She lets us take performances wherever we want and provides us with such a welcoming environment.” – Daniela Rodriguez, junior
“My favorite professor here has been Kris Jordan. He taught COMP 110 back when I was a sophomore and after taking his class, I switched my major to Computer Science. He’s such a smart and kind person, and I’m lucky to have gotten to learn from him.” Hunter Sigmund, junior
“Professor Sarah Bloesch in the Women and Gender Studies department is one of the kindest and sweetest professors I’ve ever had. She was really understanding of how tough COVID was for everyone and made deadlines a little bit looser. She also let me swap in a video project for a paper, which was really accommodated to my learning style. She’s the reason I declared my Women and Gender Studies minor!” – Lizzy Campbell, junior
“I think professor Geovani Ramírez has been the most impactful because, through his Latinx studies classes, I’ve had my identity validated and learned a lot about myself that I did not get to in public school. He’s just been super helpful.” – Brandon Lozano, first-year
“I really appreciate Dr. Mike Emch, he’s my first year seminar professor. He’s just really helped me connect with other faculty and getting to personally meet a faculty member has been great.” – Halle Evans, first-year
“I’m going to have to go with the GOAT, Michelle Sheran-Andrews. I had her during Summer Session I last year for ECON 410. She was super helpful both in class and during office hours. She posted a ton of resources and overall was just a really nice person.” –Shivan Shah, sophomore
“Coming into UNC, Dr. Benjamin Meier was one of the most inspiring professors I had. You could tell that he was really passionate about his work and he always made class very engaging and enjoyable.” –Emily Liu, first-year
These stories of inspiring teaching, unique lesson plans, thoughtful office hours, and more has us missing in-person learning even more than we already did! We’re so thankful for professors, teaching assistants, lab assistants and all Carolina faculty members who have helped guide us into our majors, on our career paths, and even to graduate school. Thank you to all our Tar Heel teachers!