Letter to a Mentor - Prosper Ssekayombya

May 14, 2020

By Beth Johnson

Hello Dr. B,

I want to start off by saying thank you for being a great teacher and my friend. Chemistry was never my strong point, and not that I am a master at it now, but the way you taught it changed my viewpoint.

The greatest lesson I learned from you was to practice. As simple as that sounds, until I took organic chemistry, I believe I was not doing it correctly. I cheated when I “practiced”. You advised me to struggle through problems before I asked for help.  You did not expect perfection, but you always said that the questions would become easier to think about the more you struggle. You did not stop there. You were always inviting to speak with me about class, or simply meet at Connecting grounds for coffee. You talked with me last summer when I was disappointed about my MCAT score. That talk we had after lecture was very important because, it was the first time I had spoken to anyone about my score and I was very doubtful about myself and my potential. You have such a great love for what you teach, and it shines through the way you teach it. I could never imagine that my greatest influence would be linked to the subject I feared the most. Thank you for everything and I look forward to our next coffee chat!