My Crazy Ecstasy Professor
Many different comments were made about our teacher before she entered the classroom. None of us had actually taken any of her classes before, but we had heard interesting stories. As I sat there pondering how much I hated History and how much I wanted coffee– a short/stout white lady dressed in jeans, a solid polo, and hideous hiking boots entered the room. A hush fell over the rest of the students as we all studied her entry to the front.
She had kind of a nervous laugh as she introduced herself and her hands somewhat shook as she passed out the syllabus. Her voice was quivery and quiet as she continued to speak. Then all of a sudden her voice got louder, her hands shot up in the air, and she made a crazy face. Out of the blue she began to talk about ecstasy. Not knowing whether to laugh or run from the room, I looked around to see everyone’s response. The room stayed quiet and somewhat uncomfortable as we sat there looking at our new professor. Before we could make ourselves feel any more awkward, she began laughing! At this, the classroom exploded with laughter. I wasn’t sure why I was laughing at first… but the harder she laughed, the harder we did as well. She was contagious, crazy and a little spooky. From that day forward she was my “Crazy Ecstasy Professor”.
The semester was a fun one and very interesting at times. I began to understand history better than I ever had. Her crazy voices and faces kept my attention as she giggled at herself throughout her lectures. One day after class she pulled me aside and began asking me questions about “Christian views” on slavery. My participation in class and questions toward her sparked her interest for my opinion. A teacher had never asked me my opinion on such matters before. Excited, I gave her my thoughts. From that day forward she became more interested in my views, and I became more interested in History. I began to visit her after class on occasion just to say hello. Hallway passings would make me giggle as she would awkwardly throw her hand in the air, laugh nervously, smile big, and give that one-of-a-kind greeting.
I was very saddened when I found out that my professor, Kristene Boeke, passed away last week during spring break. This came as a shock to our student body, her friends and family. She will never be forgotten and her laugh will always ring in my memory.
May we continue to pray for her family, friends and students.
For you, Boeke =) Thanks for caring, teaching and laughing.
