Friday, April 08, 2005
An interesting exchange
As I was waiting in the hall, a professor of mine from a few years back came walking by. He's always been a really nice guy and a good teacher, one of the economists with a better sense of humor. I did, however, earn my only B in Econ in my first class with him, Econ 315 - Intermediate Economics. Our conversation went something like this:
Professor: Hey Matt, how's it going?
Me: "Hi Dr. Baier, not too bad, how about you?"
Professor: "Pretty good, how's the graduate school thing going?"
Me: "Oh, it's over, I'm going to Oxford next year.
Professor: "Really?"
Me: "Yeah, I'll be studying for a Masters in Development Economics"
Professor: "Well that's great, congratulations. Will you try and go on after that?"
Me: "Yeah, I'm going to try and stay there for a D.Phil, if not there, somewhere else for a PhD."
Professor: "That's good to hear. Oh, and congratulations on your award [I'm getting the Econ department's award for outstanding senior and a College-wide award, I assume he was on the committee that decided it]
"You know, when we were going over your record, someone said, "Who gave him the B in Intermediate Macro??" and I had to say it was me."
Me: "Oh Dr. Baier, you didn't give me a B in 315, I earned a B in 315."
Professor: "That's sort of what I said, but I also made the point that, people that get a B every now and then, it's not a bad sign. I mean, right after you got that B, you took International Micro with me, which means, "Either he's completely crazy, or he's showing maturity and thinking beyond the grade."
I couldn't help but agree with him, and in the process I felt a little sad, knowing that this was the end of a tough but wonderful chapter of my life. I thanked him again, and he let me know that he'd write a recommendation for me if I ever needed it, and then we parted ways.
Professor: Hey Matt, how's it going?
Me: "Hi Dr. Baier, not too bad, how about you?"
Professor: "Pretty good, how's the graduate school thing going?"
Me: "Oh, it's over, I'm going to Oxford next year.
Professor: "Really?"
Me: "Yeah, I'll be studying for a Masters in Development Economics"
Professor: "Well that's great, congratulations. Will you try and go on after that?"
Me: "Yeah, I'm going to try and stay there for a D.Phil, if not there, somewhere else for a PhD."
Professor: "That's good to hear. Oh, and congratulations on your award [I'm getting the Econ department's award for outstanding senior and a College-wide award, I assume he was on the committee that decided it]
"You know, when we were going over your record, someone said, "Who gave him the B in Intermediate Macro??" and I had to
Me:
Professor: "That's sort of what I said, but I also made the point that, people that get a B every now and then, it's not a bad sign. I mean, right after you got that B, you took International Micro with me, which means, "Either he's completely crazy, or he's showing maturity and thinking beyond the grade."
I couldn't help but agree with him, and in the process I felt a little sad, knowing that this was the end of a tough but wonderful chapter of my life. I thanked him again, and he let me know that he'd write a recommendation for me if I ever needed it, and then we parted ways.
