TKC Letters Project - Here, We Find Ourselves

Here, we find ourselves.

This August marks my 9th year as a finance professor at King's College. I remember one of the interview questions I was asked to submit a written answer to; it asked how my class would be different because I was teaching it at King's. I naively answered that it wouldn't because Finance is Finance. That was the reply I supplied, albeit in a more diplomatic fashion. Many years into my stint at the College, I can say that the content of my classes is comparable to that in other institutions. However, the structure, the participants, the discussions, and the tenor is different. We have mutual respect and a genuine interest in seeing each other succeed.

The students and the professors at King's College develop lifelong relationships with each other. It starts
when new professors are introduced to the campus because it is evident in how professors and students interact. On my first visit to the College, the colleague that took me around had something to say to many of the students we crossed paths with. By contrast, when looking for a reference for my job, I went to the institution that granted my undergraduate degree and realized, sadly, that no one knew me. I just passed through the school and left no imprint behind. Many of my students will not have that issue. I am still in touch with my alums. I have celebrated weddings, births, and so much more with them. This is the unique bonus that King's offers.

In my first week on campus, I was approached and asked to become the faculty advisor for one of the female houses, the House of Clara Barton. I met the executive team of the house and said yes to becoming their faculty advisor. The main requirement of the role is mentorship. When you think about it, we as parents send barely adult children out into the world and ask them to do some adulting on their own. King's College allows them training wheels, a companion at the beginning of that journey to adulthood. I have participated in panels for financial planning, career development, how to succeed in school, how to deal with uncertainties, and how to think about career changes. As someone who started her academic life as a Zoology major, then transitioned to Computer Science, before eventually landing in Finance, I can relate to the meandering involved in finding yourself. My students benefit from that experience.

The New York City location of a Christian College is crucial. Although students benefit from mentorship, they also learn to be leaders and interact with others. They learn independence because they learn how to feed and support themselves with the jobs available here. They interact with students from other cultures and religions and learn more about what it means to be a Christian in the world. I myself have grown into a better version of myself. Everyone gets a little bit better here. That is the King's advantage.