Building Relationships with Faculty

Despite only being at Loyola for one semester, I can already tell that our school attracts only the highest caliber of professors and faculty. From the career counselors to the doctrinal professors, the faculty at Loyola are world class. As a transfer student, the faculty at the registrar’s office and the career development office have been particularly helpful for me.

I vividly remember getting selected for my first OCI interview and being both happy and scared at the same time. Naturally I was happy that I got the interview, but I couldn’t help being nervous about what was to come. The next day I met with my career counselor and she gave me the 411 on the OCI process. She guided me through some of the questions I might be asked and gave me helpful tips for my interview. I left her office feeling relieved and more confident in myself.

So far I have had many experiences like the one above. One of the things that surprised me the most was how accessible the Loyola faculty has been. Although each faculty member comes from an impressive academic and professional background, it always seems as though they are only an email away. One example of this dedication to student learning comes from this past fall semester. Leaving my Remedies final in December, I felt confident and on top of the world—that is, until I got to my car. As I packed up my car, it dawned on me that the exam I had just taken was scheduled for three hours instead of two. I still had faith in myself and thought that maybe I had squeezed in all the important stuff.

Fast-forward to when grades were finally posted. I was happy with my Remedies grade but knew something was off. I got my exam back and immediately emailed my professor. Professor Hayden promptly responded to my email and I set up a meeting with him to review my exam. As I reviewed my exam in preparation for my meeting with the professor, I couldn’t help but wonder what big issue I had missed in the fact pattern. At my meeting with Professor Hayden, we went over the exam by issue as I tried to figure out what I needed to work on. Ultimately I found out that I actually hadn’t missed anything major, but rather that I simply needed more time to get through a full analysis. Professor Hayden and I agreed that my little timing mishap played a big part in my performance on the exam. Although grades had long been posted and there was nothing to be done at that point, I appreciated Professor Hayden taking the time to meet with me and review the exam.