The same professor has won our Criminology Professor of the Year Award for every one of the 16 years it's been awarded. Again tonight, he approached the podium to loud applause and a few "Woah, big surprise!" cracks from the audience of criminology students and faculty. He had no written speech in front of him but was very focused on his message.
His tears in the closing moments of his message were genuine. A man who has been told year-in and year-out how great he is would be expected to have an enlarged head, shouldn't be surprised to win a vote he has never lost. I wouldn't have thought any less of him had he gone up to the podium with a swagger, issued some half-hearted thank-you's, and returned to his seat unaffected by his plaque. But tonight he taught me a valuable lesson about how important it is to keep a connection with those that have helped you get to where you are today, and how the most simple showing of appreciation and gratitude can be both poignant and humbling... as long as the giver truly means it, and the receiver has truly earned it.
On Monday, I'll knock on his office door and thank him for the past two years.
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