It is almost implied as soon as you sit down in class with 50 other students that your professor probably won't ever learn your name.
The only way the professor even knows you exist is from your signature on the sign in sheet or your spot on the roster for entering final grades. Ironically, everyone in the class knows the name of the person standing at the board but rarely does occur in the reverse.
But it does happen, and I want to say thank you to the professor who knows my name in the class that had a sea of of them.
You answered all of my questions after class without batting an eye. You called me by my name when I raised my hand in class instead of pointing to me and yelling "You with the red sweater". Thank you for recognizing me as a student with an identity and not just a face in the crowd.
You remembered to address me when I sent an email after class after asking about a quiz for the next day. That "Good afternoon, Mackenzi" meant you were looking at more than the content of the message; you checked to see who sent it to begin with. Thank you for not making me feel like just another confused student, instead I was a specific one in your inbox.
When I turned in my final, you wished me luck for the next semester and said good-bye. You said my name for the last time in class and proved to me that I meant something to the class. Thank you for the impact you left on me.
You wrote me a recommendation letter for a scholarship long after our interaction had ended. When I was thinking of people to ask, you popped into my head. I emailed you like before, and you still responded asking how I was doing and that you would gladly help me out once again.
You remembered some of my interests and my field of study. Thank you for paying attention to what I mentioned in conversation.
Thank you for learning my name. If you hadn't, I would have never accomplished as much as I did both inside and outside of class. Thank you for letting me leave an impression on you like you had done for me.
Even if my name becomes a distant memory buried under new classes and courses, I will never forget how you learned my name. I hope you continue to learn others' names and that they appreciate it as much as I did. Thank you for making me feel like an actual person.
