Well I am headed up to Mt. Pleasant this Saturday to visit CMU for the first time in decades. This time I really feel I need to say “thank you” to all of my professors and mentors from back in the 70′s.

Judie and I are the guests of President Dr. George Ross for the CMU Homecoming. I really feel a need to say a ceremonial “thank you” .

When I arrived at CMU in 1975 I was not really sure about anything except that I wanted to have fun. I really had no idea what my future held. Not sure what talents, if any, I had.

I was not beaming with self confidence or self esteem and really was kind of frightened about the future. Maybe I was an average college student.

Well, what happened over the next few years was the result of my professors and life long friends Mike Smith and Curt Mink. Professors like Dr. Richard Allen and Dr. Ling helped to mold me into a student and someone who actually enjoyed class and I began to feel like I had a direction. My professors were positive and always encouraging me to develop new skills. I didn’t know it at the time but they were shaping my life for me. Building my self confidence and self esteem.

They loved CMU and they loved what they were doing and they had a profound impact on me. And, I have never really said “thank you”. Oh I know they won’t be there Saturday and I know no one will know me either but I plan on saying “thank you!” anyway. I can only imagine what my life would be like if I didn’t go to CMU and more importantly if I didn’t have these professors who helped me believe in myself.

So now it’s 2011 and I am a die hard Rocket. I have the privilege to teach college students about Public Relations each semester. Every time I walk through the classroom door I remember Dr.Allen and what he did for me. During each class session I remind my students that they all have talents, they all are a brand of their own, that they all can have fulfilling careers and lives. I try to build up their self esteem and confidence and get them ready for the next step in their lives. I’m not sure I have helped anyone but believe me it is my main goal each semester. My CMU experience did this for me and I feel a need to do this for my Rockets. To me, this is what it means to be Professor Burns. A privilege and an honor to impact lives each day!

So I am going back up to Mount Pleasant a true Rocket but I will be thanking my Chippewa friends for what they did some 35 years ago.

Go Rockets… thanks for reading.

Regards, Larry.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 14th, 2011 at 7:43 am and is filed under Uncategorized.
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