Time management was never my strong suit. I tend to be late to most everything. Not because I want to be, but because I can never gauge how much time I need to get somewhere. You may be asking, Ailee what does this have to do with your professor? Well be patient, jeez, I’m getting there. Due to my poor time management skills, I was very late to my first college class ever during my freshman year. I was nervous and scared. I didn’t really know what to expect from college. My parents went to college in a different country, so I was on my own. I walked into that first class very late, and everyone looked up at me. I was embarrassed and almost wanted to turn around and leave, when my professor said, “Welcome, what’s your name?” That professor was Dr. Ann Engar.
Dr. Engar teaches the pre-law LEAP classes. I want to go to law school after undergrad so I applied to get into the three year LEAP program to prepare myself. The first semester was hard, I won’t deny it. Our reading load was heavy and after the semester was done, a lot of people dropped the program. I now see why she did that — it was to weed out the people who were not serious about law. If they weren’t willing to put in the work on that first semester, then they wouldn’t be ready for actual law school. After that semester, her class was amazing. We went on field trips to the courthouse and capitol building, we played games, did fun projects, and really got to be close to each other. I met some of my best friends in that class (hey Marshall, Jadyn, Xena, Angie, and Milena!). As part of one of our semesters, we had to get an internship, and mine was at the Rocky Mountain Innocence Center. It was amazing. I was truly getting the experience I needed for a law career and I was so grateful.
As for the professor herself, Dr. Engar is hands-down the best professor I have ever had across all four years of college. She teaches many classes with many students but she truly cares about each and every one of them. She sets up time with you one-on-one every two weeks just tosee how you are doing. I remember on one of our last days, she cried because she was going to miss us. She is truly amazing and I still have a relationship with her now. She gives me advice on the LSAT, on preparing for law school, and has even set up job interviews with law offices for me. No one could say that she doesn’t care about her students. When I was the president of the Pre-Law Student Society, she would help me with many of the events, and would often come talk to our members about preparing for law school and a career. When I went to D.C. for an internship, she had the whole class wish me luck and gave me a lot of advice. I cannot emphasize how amazing she is. I would not be graduating and preparing for law school if it wasn’t for her guidance and kindness.
Dr. Engar, I have not shown my appreciation for you during my time in your class. I want to do that now. Thank you so much. Thank you for making me feel welcome on my very first day of college. Thank you for giving me the amazing friends I have now. Thank you for preparing me more than I ever knew was possible. Thank you for helping me for all of these years. I know it couldn’t have been easy. You have taught me so much, and I know that for many years to come, I will always remember you as my favorite professor.
