My favorite professor

In my more ambitious academic days, I was majoring in both mathematics and journalism. I was not a typical math major; my classes did not come easily to me despite my professors’ most valiant efforts. While my peers tended to tackle their homework without too much sweat, I struggled to keep pace. Dr. Rudy Horne taught my differential equations course, which dealt with material I considered quite challenging.

I still remember the first day of class. Dr. Horne had the rare ability to make a difficult math seem simple. Of course, I still failed to keep up, so I attended his open office hours every week to catch up on material that I could not digest in class. Dr. Horne’s office hours were his strongest point. At first, I was concerned that he would not be pleased with how much extra help I was seeking. I was worried for no reason. Not only would he go through any homework problem with which I struggled, but he made sure I knew that he wanted me to be there. After the dirty work of differential equations was finished, we would sit and chat about Carolina sports, the dynamics of the classroom and even his friend’s upcoming wedding. Needless to say, Dr. Horne became a friend in that mathematical part of my life where I needed the most support.

I had a difficult time telling certain people about my decision to focus solely on journalism. Months after my decision, I still had not told Dr. Horne. I did not want to disappoint him since he had spent so much of his time helping me. I eventually ran into him at a movie theater on Franklin Street. We went out for coffee after the film to catch up with each other. When I told him about my decision and the reasons behind it, he could not have been more supportive. I realized then that even though he was an experienced mathematician who had been dragged into my mathematical struggles, he really wanted what was best for me. That, to me, is the definition of a friend.