Welcome to OU Magazine's Letters section. Stories in the last issue got one reader thinking about a professor who made a real difference in her career and her life - and who ultimately became a personal friend. We'd love to hear from you, too. Drop us a note.
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I would like to extend my gratitude and thanks to Oakland University for allowing me to matriculate in the first dual master’s program that was begun in fall 1985. My time was well spent taking both my master’s courses and my elementary education course for certification as a teacher. My most memorable mentor was Dr. Jacquie Lougheed. I do believe that her steady guidance during the course where I participated in a semester long case study with an exceptional child was of great benefit. When I was trying to decide upon a topic for my masters’ thesis, Jacquie had by this time become a friend. She suggested an idea that would include my three adopted Korean children. She knew that adopting a sibling group all at once at ages 10, 8 and 6 was a Herculean challenge for any new mother. Jacquie was extremely supportive over the long winter, or what seemed the long winter that I wrote the thesis. By this time my family and I had moved to Ohio, so I had to pursue my thesis writing long distance. This was 1988 and before the ease and convenience of the Web and e-mail. I also had to learn how to use my first computer while completing my thesis. Again, Jacquie was most helpful in encouraging me when I would hit the inevitable stone walls as a thesis writer. She kept pointing out that it was important to finish the thesis in a timely fashion. Her persistence certainly paid off, since I completed the research and writing before the June 1988 graduation date. Jacquie is still a friend, a long time friend now. We talk to each other by phone and e-mail frequently. Oakland University was a true godsend for my masters’ training and having a professor like Jacquie was a big part of my current success as a teacher.
Thank you.
Susan Feucht Brennan, MAT ’88