{"id":3400,"date":"2019-01-10T20:08:02","date_gmt":"2019-01-10T20:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/?p=3400"},"modified":"2019-05-23T19:16:49","modified_gmt":"2019-05-23T19:16:49","slug":"a-legacy-of-changed-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/2019\/01\/10\/a-legacy-of-changed-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"A Legacy of Changed Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the end of fall term, 2018, two of the Honors College\u2019s most engaged and beloved faculty partners retired following careers marked by distinction both in honors and across Oregon State University. College of Science faculty members Kevin Ahern and Indira Rajagopal have been central figures within the college for over a decade. In that time, they\u2019ve made significant contributions in the widest variety of roles, encompassing mentorship, administration, recruitment, co-curricular engagement, resource development and \u2013 above all \u2013 teaching. Both have been recognized as Honors College Eminent Professors.<\/p>\n

Their involvement with honors began through their teaching (Kevin was a professor of biochemistry and biophysics and Indira a senior instructor in biology and biochemistry and biophysics), and their commitment to the classroom has remained the foundation of their relationship with the Honors College. \u201cI was very acquainted with honors students and activities,\u201d says Kevin. \u201c[Increased engagement] was a natural extension.\u201d Indira was a post-doc teaching biochemistry courses when she heard that there would be one section of the introductory honors biology course open. \u201cI had some quirky ideas about teaching,\u201d she says, \u201cand it seemed like students in honors courses would be the ideal group \u2013 it turned out to be perfect. They were ripe for the challenge.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Indira Rajagopal teaching class.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI had this idea that I wanted my students to be fearless,\u201d Indira says. \u201cWhen they come in, straight out of high school and have their first class with me, they\u2019re sometimes afraid to make mistakes. I wanted to break them of that.\u201d The Honors College\u2019s small class format facilitated her approach. \u201cI do some unconventional things. I set up meetings with them one-on-one and show them that learning is more important than a score, that they\u2019re not going to be punished for being adventurous, that making mistakes is not going to kill their grade. That\u2019s where personal interaction comes in, and the Honors College allows it; you have complete freedom to do what you need to do for their learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe kids are like children to us \u2013 we both feel that strongly,\u201d says Kevin. \u201cWe have seen what the honors experience has done for students, the growth students go through. The classes offered and, most importantly, the social component, the camaraderie. It\u2019s universally valued as a \u2018fun\u2019 experience. When honors students graduate, they\u2019re sad to leave. Even the thesis is something they\u2019re worried about, but by the time they\u2019re done they really see the value of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The impact of Kevin and Indira\u2019s work is clear from the influence they\u2019ve had on current and past honors undergraduates. \u201cKevin and Indira are huge champions for their students,\u201d says Brooke Frey, a third year biochemistry and molecular biology major. \u201cYou can tell that they want everyone to succeed and reach their fullest potential.\u201d Kevin was instrumental in helping her when she was overwhelmed during her first year, connecting her with a research lab and encouraging her through moments of self-doubt. \u201cHonestly, I was extremely close to changing my major in my first term of college, but he convinced me otherwise and reminded me of my ability to be there and succeed. I would not have been as involved or confident in the biochemistry department without his mentorship.\u201d<\/p>\n

The concern that their students thrive as individuals, both while at OSU and after, marks their mentorship and teaching and was a significant factor in their support for the Honors College.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s part of what honors is about,\u201d Indira says. \u201cNot just acquiring knowledge in one specialized area but developing as a human being. In honors biology classes, I can go into the context. History has changed because of biological facts \u2013 like an army incapacitated because they ate a certain type of honey. Battles are lost because of biological facts like that! When you learn about things in isolation, you don\u2019t appreciate how it all fits together. You don\u2019t have to have a single identity; you can be a scientist and a musician or a scientist and a poet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Kevin Ahern, “Singing for Science”<\/p><\/div>\n

Kevin \u2013 who writes poetry and is known for his science-themed songs \u2013 has incorporated this approach in his honors courses \u201cThe Scientist in the Public Eye,\u201d which teaches interviewing and writing skills, and \u201cSing a Song of Science,\u201d in which students write limericks and songs about biochemistry. \u201cIt\u2019s a way to get people over the fear of biochemistry. Stress is an impediment to learning,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The Honors College has supported this kind of innovative teaching. \u201cWe both left lab research a long time ago,\u201d Kevin says. \u201cThe classroom has really been our research. Working with honors students and in the Honors College has been very important in our continual improvement as instructors. The small class sizes, the opportunity to get to know every person \u2013 it\u2019s great to get this kind of valuable feedback from students in majors all across campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always viewed the classroom as a laboratory,\u201d adds Indira, \u201ctrying out these ideas about how best to get people to develop skills and their own original answers. And students have come up with some really interesting ideas about what the class could do \u2013 I just ask them. I\u2019ve learned right alongside them. It\u2019s been a joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

As they picture retirement together \u2013 travel and writing and learning piano or Italian \u2013 they will most likely continue teaching in some form. \u201cI don\u2019t think I can stay away too long,\u201d Indira says. For starters, they have been working with a company, Great Courses, to develop 36 lectures on biochemistry.<\/p>\n

And through their many roles in honors \u2013 which includes membership on the Board of Regents, the Honors College\u2019s external advisory board, and a stint as co-associate dean \u2013 teaching has remained a constant and a foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe work I\u2019ve done in the Honors College is what I\u2019ve absolutely treasured,\u201d Indira says. \u201cAbsolutely,\u201d adds Kevin, \u201cit has been the pinnacle of our careers.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the end of fall term, 2018, two of the Honors College\u2019s most engaged and beloved faculty partners retired following careers marked by distinction both in honors and across Oregon State University. College of Science faculty members Kevin Ahern and Indira Rajagopal have been central figures within the college for over a decade. In that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":397,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1205,213019,1163416,1163399,82],"tags":[213012,196241,1782],"class_list":["post-3400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories","category-board-of-regents","category-community","category-courses-faculty","category-features","tag-eminent-professors","tag-faculty-2","tag-honors-college"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/397"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3400"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3430,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3400\/revisions\/3430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/honorslink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}