Not all heroes wear capes, as Mustafa Kemal said. "A good teacher is like a candle – it consumes itself to light the way for others." On Tuesday, October 5, 2023, AUN joined the rest of the world to celebrate Teacher's Appreciation Day. It is a day to celebrate and appreciate the effort and hard work teachers put in to ensure students succeed.
To show appreciation for their instructors, AUN students devised a few ideas to make their favorite instructors feel loved and valued. As well as placing a whiteboard on the ground floor of the e-library, where students wrote affectionate paragraphs for their instructors, they also made handwritten notes and personally delivered them to instructor's offices. Some of them wrote emails and took pictures as well.
Upon receiving the notes, the smiles on the instructors' faces expressed what words could not. They delightfully conveyed gratitude. Many took pictures with their students. "We took the initiative to do this for them, not by obligation, but to show gratitude for all they do for us genuinely. The instructors at AUN really have their students’ best interest at heart, and that is something unique to this institution", said Joy, one of the students who took the time to design handwritten notes for her favorite teachers. "Despite, or perhaps because of the small classroom size allowing for one-on-one interactions with students, the passion that flows from AUN instructors makes the learning experience special. I am grateful for that; their passion is contagious," said Dorothy, one of the students who made cards and distributed them to fellow students to write special messages on.
The student-teacher relationship that exists at AUN is truly something special. The enthusiasm and passion from the instructors' mentorship align perfectly with the students' zeal to learn in a conducive learning environment unlike anywhere else in sub-Saharan Africa. This connection allows for the gratifying learning experience that makes AUN the institution that it is.
By Kamsi Maria Dan-Okereke
Second-year NES student, Work-study student at the Marketing &Communications Department