A Happy Surprise

Last night I arrived early to teach my first class of the semester. There was a class going on in the room so I put my bag down on the bench and enjoyed my dinner which consisted of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and water. The first class usually lets out early so I thought I had enough time to get home and eat something before bed.

After the students filed out of the room, I waited for the professor thinking that a courteous “Hello!” would do since I probably didn’t know him or her. Due to the small window in the door, I couldn’t see who was facilitating and I didn’t want to be the guy who stuck his face up to the glass.

When the professor finally opened the door and walked out, I was shocked at who it was. It was Larry Froman. Not only was he the Program Director for the HRD program when I was a student, but he was one of my favorite teachers/professors. I still say to this day that Leadership Theory and Practice was one of my favorite classes. That was due to Dr. Froman’s lecture style that gave us ample opportunity to discuss and share whether the theory was something possible to put into practice where we worked.

He told me to stop by his office when I got set up. I hurried to set up and went to his office. We happily chatted about names of past colleagues that we enjoyed working with and what we have been up to since we last saw each other. He retired and returned to teach part-time. I left TU, but came back to teach as well. He is still writing and shared his latest work. I can’t wait to read it!

I could have chatted with him about our field and life for another hour without thinking about it. However, I knew that my students were going to be filling up the classroom very soon. We made plans to catch up over lunch. I better clear my afternoon too since I know the time will fly.

For those of us who teach/instruct/facilitate, we do so to share our passion with those who are interested in our field or topic. I’m glad to see Larry back doing what he LOVES and is great at doing.