I took Eric my first semester of freshman year here at Denison and he taught me what
being a Communication student was about. Coming into my freshman year, I thought that film and cinema was the thing for me.
My realization moment that communication was right for me was when I visited Eric in
office hours to discuss an upcoming final paper. After discussing his research of Israeli television (I believe) I asked him why he chose the topic. "Because I love it. I'm interested in it. Everything about it fascinates me," he replied. "What do you love?"
My response of "basketball" channeled our discussion into ways basketball fit into
different cultures and how the NBA is asserting American culture into new markets of
fans. My final paper, "Global Hoops: The NBA's expansion into Southeast Asian culture" remains my favorite of my college career. I think I even got a B on the paper - but I didn't care because it was something I was passionate about and invested in.
It was all because Eric taught me that I shouldn't study what I don't care about. Or at least not further in depth. I've guided projects in other classes to my life experiences and interests rather than EXACTLY what the professor is looking for.
Eric has passion for his work, research and, as evidenced by the support of so many of us, his students. It would be a shame if future Denison students were denied the
privilege of studying at this great institution under this great man.
Sincerely,
Shea McMahon '09
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment