Call me weird, call me a nerd, I don’t care. I love to learn, and I love getting to be taught by wonderful professors who have so much knowledge to share with me. I’m a first generation college student, transferred into TAMU, and am from out-of-state, so I didn’t grow up as an Aggie or even know what Texas A&M was until I was a nineteen year old freshman at another college! I think that’s part of the reason why I don’t take my education or a moment here at A&M for granted, it still feels so surreal that I’m here. One of the reasons that makes it clear to me that I ended up in just the right place at the right time are the caring, thoughtful, and brilliant professors I’ve had the privilege of learning from. So as I’m about to enter my senior year, I thought it was time to share some of my favorite courses I’ve taken and my professor recommendations.
FREN 101 & 102 with Dr. Arthur Kolzow
I’m an English major, so my degree plan requires 14 consecutive course hours in a foreign language. French is HARD, please don’t get me wrong. I hear all of the time, “so, why didn’t you take spanish?” but I am so glad I picked French. I’ve had Dr. Kolzow for both of my introductory French courses, and he is such a great professor. He is very funny, never belittles anyone, and he wants to help you succeed. He gives review packets that you can practice before exams, and he plays a song in French before every class. He asks many conversational questions in French and it helps a lot with my long term comprehension. There are many extra credit opportunities, and the way he sets up the course you will get at least a B if you put in the effort required for learning a foreign language. He is so friendly and helpful. I recommend not only taking French because it is such a beautiful language and interesting to learn, but also recommend taking Dr. K!
Engl 303 & 315 with Dr. Dorothy Todd
Engl 303 is a required class for English majors, one that gets different professors and course themes each semester. I took 303 in the spring of ‘24 with Dr. Todd. I went in hating Shakespeare and dreading the materials, and I finished with a lot of new skills (comprehension, class discussion, close reading, writing papers, and text analyzation) and a newfound appreciation for Shakespeare’s plays and his humor. One of the plays we read was Much Ado About Nothing and I still remember the character’s names and things that happened, which I normally can’t recall after reading older texts. If you see Dr. Todd’s name on registration sometime, take her!! I took 203 with another professor (it was awful) but Dr. Todd frequently teaches it. I wish I would have had the chance to take her for that course my first semester here.
Dr. Todd is so funny, interactive, and understanding. She builds true relationships with all of her students and just wants everyone to learn. She is not a harsh grader like a lot of English professors, has 4 free absences built into the syllabus, and even offers a 48 hour extension with no late penalty if you’re stretched thin. Just communicate with her, and she will do everything she can to work with you.
This semester, I took Engl 315 with Dr. Todd, which is 17th century literature. Ew, right? It actually was really interesting! The course load is very doable, especially for a 300 level course. Even if you don’t understand a text on your first read, Dr. Todd’s lecture and class discussion always clarifies a lot and helped me learn how to approach different kinds of texts. There were three short close reading assignments, a semester long “commonplace”, and a midterm/final. As long as you do the readings and show up to class, you will do well in this course. This class taught me a lot without being a huge site of stress. Dr. Todd is one of my two top professors I’ve taken at TAMU, I could sing her praises all day.
Jour 1o2 with tom burton
This was probably the easiest class I’ve taken in college, but I remember SO much of what I learned! Professor Burton is such an interesting guy with so many cool stories and experiences from being a journalist. (He photographed Stevie Nicks once. I almost fell out of my chair in class). The topic of American mass media really educated me on the world around us and how important journalism is and the bones of how it works. Attendance isn’t mandatory, but his lectures are so interesting and he always is dropping crazy lore during class, so I would definitely recommend going. All of his exams are open notes, but if you attend the lectures you won’t even need the slides. There are four exams, a team project, and a final written assignment. The workload is very doable and an easy A, but I recommend it because I still think about the things I learned and loved getting to be taught by Professor Burton. To all of you journalism majors who probably got to take him multiple times – color me jealous!!
COMM 340 with Dr. Larry Lemmons
This was the most fun class I have ever taken. The course’s title is communication and pop culture and it was so interesting! The course is normally late in the day, and structured pretty strangely, but it’s worth it. But you have to pick your seat wisely on the first day of class because where you sit determines who will be in your “group” and the people you’ll be working with all semester long. There are 3 exams, 3 group presentations, and a final paper (that you can work on with your group). The presentations required more work for me than the exams did, as they were open notes and he also allowed students to take the exam together! But the presentations were so much fun – one of the assignments was to pick a music video and explain it through a narrative theory we’d learned about. I loved my group, and I was always laughing in class. A lot of people got really into the presentations and it was so much fun to watch. Dr. Lemmons is very fun but can be considered a bit abrasive at times. I think it’s mostly because he has a dry sense of humor. I liked him a lot, just take note that he isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. If you are looking for a really fun, less time consuming 300 level course for residency requirements, I am literally begging you to take this course. It’s been a whole other semester since I took it and I still miss it!
ocng 251 with richard rosas
Who could have seen this coming, a humanities major recommending a science course?? I hate science and was so ready to take this class and finally satisfy my core science requirement. I actually really enjoyed this course! It is not about studying dolphins like I expected, but the material was actually pretty interesting. The class consists of 4 exams, 1 final project, and an extra credit opportunity worth 5% added to your total grade. The first unit was hard for me, and after the first exam I was freaking out with a C. But I kept trying, worked hard, and finished the class with an A! Attendance isn’t mandatory and the slides are posted to canvas, but hear me when I say that the information will go in one ear and out the other if you miss a class. Just go, it will highly benefit you and Mr. Rosas is an awesome guy. He was a grad student and always told us to refer to him as Richard, but my brain just couldn’t do it hahaha. He was very kind, laid-back, and passionate about the course information. He always wore funny t-shirts and made sarcastic jokes in class. He is a super nice teacher, organized the class so well, and wanted everyone to gain something from his class and do well. If science doesn’t come easy to you, you can take this class and make it out alive.
comm/jour/pols 302 with isaac blacksin
This is a cross-listed course titled Mass Media & Politics. This has been another one of my favorite classes simply because of the topic material. Professor Blacksin’s lectures are so interesting and his level of knowledge on the things we learn is incredible. I wish this class was required simply because of the things I’ve taken away from what I’ve learned, and how I see it all in my everyday life and the state of our world. The class consists of 5 random in class reading responses, 2 exams, and a final case study paper over a piece of media of your choice and one text from the syllabus. He is a very laid-back and approachable professor, and makes it clear that his teaching goal is that we take these things we learn beyond our class. I definitely recommend this class if you need an interesting but lighter work load 300 level class. And I recommend Professor Blacksin as well!
ENGL 235 & 345 with Dr. Lowell White
Dr. White is my other favorite professor! His creative writing classes taught me so much and it was so nice to work on something creative for a grade rather than drowning in purely academic papers. 235 consists of participation questions & reading responses on canvas, three short stories, 9 poems, and a final portfolio of one fully revised story and six poems. 345 consists of the same questions and responses, along with a bit more reading and four short stories, and a revised portfolio of two stories. This class had a theme we had to base our writing around – American Darkness. (Each class has a different theme each semester). We also had to follow specific types of stories to write, like coming of age or stranger rides into town, etc. Dr. White is an author of 7 novels, I believe, and has taught me so much valuable knowledge about being a writer. He is also just an extraordinary man who has lived such a cool life. He is incredibly passionate about writing and teaching. I took him for two semesters straight and I am hoping to take him again! I have learned so many valuable things in this class, but I didn’t have to drown in work to do so. His assignments are extremely reasonable and he does everything in his power to educate you and help you do well. Dr. White is one of the best teachers I have ever encountered, and I definitely recommend taking him even if creative writing isn’t your thing. He has so much wisdom to offer, values each student, and the writing process in his class is so much fun!