Hello Kevin,

I saw in the newsletter asking alum for the faculty that made the most difference in ones lives and thought I would contribute. For me it wasn’t necessarily a direct faculty member per say, although the Chemical Engineering faculty at the time was fantastic…  But it was a staff member.

I had gone through a particularly rough second year. I took on way more than I could reasonably chew both on and off campus, which resulted in me ending up on academic probation my third year. I was crushed, defeated, but one staff member kept her faith in my abilities, and supported me through that challenging time.

I worked at the Chemistry Learning Center as a Coach and Team Leader, if it were not for Lois Blau, I am not confident I would have been successful at Michigan Tech. Having a learning center coach on academic probation doesn’t exactly set the example, I am sure, that MTU is looking for but Lois saw through that. Lois became an outlet for support and encouragement which was exactly what I needed at the time. The learning center became my home away from home, a quiet place to work and study, whether it was P-Chem, reaction engineering, or plant design. At the end of my third year I obtained one of my highest GPAs in my college career, but more importantly the confidence I needed to finish the Chemical Engineering Program, I could not have done it without the support and encouragement from Lois.

Thank you for everything Lois.

Kevin Toadvine
BS Chemical Engineering `04

Favorite Profs?

Obviously Doc Berry, though I really had little contact with him except trying to survive Chemistry.

A not obvious choice of mine is Dr Donald Dawson who taught Calculus for a long time. Brilliant and I didn’t really appreciate the application of methods and thought until way later on. He really inspired me in further degrees and teaching undergrads and grads.

I liked Dr Lowther, but he was always hard to figure out for me.

Dr Mottler who headed Math and Computer Science always impressed me, I wish I had taken time to try and get to know him better.

Chuck Heiden, PhD
BS, CS 1980
Looking at the alumni MTU pages, and thinking of Dr. Ella Wood. I very clearly remember taking a geography course from her in about 1952. She was a super teacher, and I  still remember some things she helped me learn. Only a few students in the class about 10. At the end of the class, she allowed us to give the grade to our selves we deserved. I remember explaining why a “A” grade was proper.

She was really great at getting and keeping the class interest. Another thing I remember was why, in the song, “On the road to Mandalay where the flying fishes play, and the sun comes up like thunder over China across the bay,” it was a geographic error (somehow).

Donald Daavettila ’56