An Open Letter To My Advisor

Dear Advisor,

Thank you. Thank you for all that you have done for me. Thank you for teaching me that my education was important and will always be important. Thank you for believing in me when I couldn't believe in myself. You out of all people showed me that no matter the challenge, I was always going to be able to get through it.

I am not going to lie and say sometimes I question why I choose Math as my major. Was it because I was good at the subject and really enjoyed it? Or was it because I felt the pressure from my family to major in a subject area that would help me get a good job after I graduated? I like to think the answer is that I enjoy the subject and have a love-hate relationship with it.

However, you always are there to help kinder that relationship. I can always come sit in your office hours and tell you everything that is going on. I can tell you how all my other classes are going, how all my on-campus jobs are going, what my plans are for the weekend, and everything else in between. You are always there to listen. Thank you for that. Thank you for spending countless hours in the library with me until 5 am studying Differential Equations, Modern Algebra, Linear Algebra, and everything else we ever studied for together. Thank you for sitting there and pushing me to recreate a proof three or four times because you know that I understand what I am doing; however, I just need someone guide me along the way.

Thank you for being that one professor who believes in me when I can't find the power to believe in myself. You don't know how much that means. To be someone who doesn't believe they are going to pass a class with anything above a C, but with your help and guidance pass the class with a B-. Thank you for showing me I could do anything I want to and taking me under your wing. Thank you for being my second mother, always there when I need someone to talk to.

I swear if it was not for you, I probably would have given up on Math after Calculus II. Out of all my professors, you were and are the professor who will push me farther past my breaking point. You saw the potential I had in my sophomore year and helped show me that potential. Now as a first-semester senior, majoring in Math, I see that potential. I see what you have seen in me from day 1.

Thank you for so willingly choosing to work with me on my senior thesis. From writing 100 pages on Math to working on my senior research presentation, you have made completing a 4 credit senior thesis a breeze. Thank you for encouraging me to step out of my comfort zone with my senior thesis and complete research in a field of Math that I have only seen as a Supplemental Instructor.

Again, I want to say thank you for all you have done for me. Whether you offered to stay up with me and help me study for a test or just being able to sit in your office hours and vent; you truly are someone I never want to lose in my life. You are one of the role models I use for my aspiration to go into the education field. You have taught me how to not only become a better teacher but also become a better person. I cannot wait to spend my last semester of college working with the best professor and advisor out there. Thank you for everything you have done and will continue to do for me.

With all due respect,

Your Advisee