A Good Chemistry Professor

If someone asked me whose chemistry class I would recommend to take, I definitely would not hesitate to suggest him to enroll Dr. Richard Dipietro’s. He was both an interesting person and a serious, helpful, friendly and hard-working professor, whose teaching methods were the best I had ever seen in the last two years of my college study.

Dr. Richard was about six-feet and four-inches tall, a heavy and fatty person, who used to wear black jeans and white shirts in the winter. In the summer, he often wore sun glasses, white khakis pants with colorful shirts, from which he usually teased us with sparkling eyes and a big smile when he found that students curiously were looking at him: “Hey, look, do I look like someone who just took a vacation in Hawaii?” In addition, Dr. Dipietro’s hair all turned to gray at the age of fifty that made him look really special.

Most people lead busy lives nowadays. They are very rushed, sometimes for no reason. Dr. Dipietro was quite different. He was always very relaxed and did not seem to be stressed out. He was usually carrying a black briefcase, walking slowly into the classroom, looking side to side, and saying hello to students. “How do you feel today? Do you have any problem to tell me?” is the usual opening statement to my class when he came in.

His ways of lecturing showed that he was a wholehearted professor. He seemed very quickly to realize that his students wanted to ask him something shown on the board. “It seems you don’t understand this point, right?” he asked us and without waiting for the answer, he continued “Ok, here is the way…” Moreover, he took time during the lecture hours to explain the problems that we repeatedly got incorrect answers. At laboratory, he explained and showed all students how to use right tools very vividly. After that he walked around to see how students were doing assignments, and provided his helps if he found they were getting troubles. Everyone enjoyed lab hours because they could learn more from the lectures.

Dr. Dipietro never minded helping students. He loved to help and was in his office for people who needed helps. He tried his best to explain the materials that students did not understand. If any students were behind lessons, he gave extra hours after class to help them out. “Don’t worry about your grades; focus on how much you understand this course.” He frequently told us. Besides helping students with school work, Dr. Dipietro also helped students to look for a job. My classmate, Ms. Linh, was looking for a part time job. He knew her good at mathematics, so he helped her get a job at the tutoring center. Unlike other teachers, Dr. Dipietro gave his students plenty of time on exams, including the final one. He never put pressure on students. He was very sympathetic with situations of students because he know them took not only his class. I still remember what he said when I came to ask for a date for the final exam prior to the official one because I had three tests on that date.

“Professor, I have a problem with your next mid-term exam date. You know, I will have three tests on that date and that will put a lot of pressure on me. May I ask for some day before that?” I earnestly asked him.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear about that. Let me see my schedule and see if I can make a date for you…ok,