Dear Andrew Letter

Dear Mr. Brown,

My name is Kyle Indingaro, yes I know it’s a mouthful but it’s not too bad once you get to know me. I’m from Goffstown, New Hampshire which isn’t as country as everyone down here thinks it is. It’s only about 45 minutes from the historic city of Boston, Massachusetts. My whole family actually grew up in Boston so I’ve always been looked at as the “hick” of the family but hopefully I can get away from that nickname down here. The reason I made the 15 hour trek to North Carolina was due to my great desire to leave the harsh New England winters and experience a new atmosphere while I’m still young and adventures. I can’t ski, can’t snowboard and my love is and always will be the beach, so as you could imagine, New England wasn’t for me. Even though Charlotte doesn’t have the beaches, it’s better than freezing for five months out of the year. After visiting several campuses such as the University of New Hampshire, Purdue, and Florida Institute of Technology, I fell in love with Charlotte. A modern campus with an elegant city just a stroll away… how can you beat that? The campus connected to me from the start and I can’t be more enthused to call Charlotte my home for (at least) the next four years.

With this class, I really hope to dive into my creative side of writing. I love to write, even though I’ll never be James Patterson. Exploring my life through text is one of my favorite things to do outside of the classroom and I am excited to explore even more topics. As an engineering major, I’m not going to lie, I have a fear that I will put this class on the back burner even though it is probably one of my favorite topics. It’s been pounded in our heads that engineering students will have to put in an extreme amount of work to achieve their goals. I really respect the fact that you care about our lives outside the classroom and that does comfort me going into the year. The continuous fear of all-nighters lurks every day and I hope I don’t fall behind in your class due to my other courses as I respect you just as much as I respect any other professor.

As a reader, I wouldn’t say it’s is my “strong suit.” I don’t read often, however if I find a book to my liking, I usually can’t get away from it. As a major baseball fan, I recently picked up “The Captain” by Ian O’Connor on the life of my idol, Derek Jeter. I read through the book in under four days. I simply couldn’t put it down! It was a subject that always fascinated me and when I get my hands on a text with such intriguing detail, I fall in love. There’s not a lot that catches my eye when it comes to books. Science fiction, and fantasy just don’t do it, however a good realistic fiction story will always catch my attention. “To Catch a Mockingbird” will forever be one of my favorite books due to its message and characters. A well written book (with not a lot of pages) is what I’m looking for. You throw a picture book at me and give me a quiz, well I’m going to knock that baby out of the park.

I’ve never really been known as a writer to my previous teachers. I was always known as a math and science type of student. If you had a calculous or physics question, Kyle Indingaro was your guy! Junior and senior year I spent all my studies trying to teach freshmen students the basics of algebra and physical science. Writing was never really in my arsenal of mastered school topics and that always sort of shocked me because it was something I looked forward to doing. It’s not like I would fail numerous writing assignments, I would always receive an A or a B but the English classes were always on the lower end of the spectrum when it came to my grades. I do remember a certain writing assignment sophomore year when we were given a free writing assignment. Almost like a short story to create with our own imagination. It was the epitome of my kind of project. Anything I wanted, and any length! I remember writing about a boy who recently went through a divorce as it related to my life. He was a standout shortstop for the states premiere baseball team and he had carried his team to a championship game and had been the hero of not only his team, but the entire town. After winning such an epic game, he still felt lost and alone after his family had fallen apart. It had a lot to do with how I was feeling at the time, but I was able to express myself and at the same time showcase my imagination in writing. I know, not too pleasant of a story but something I’ll always be proud of.

The more you get to know me, the more “interesting” I become. One thing all my friends back home know about me is that my dream is to become a Disney Imagineer! Someone who designs structures for the Walt Disney Company at their theme parks! I have grown up around Disney and have always admired the immense beauty and detail of all their parks and resorts. It’s not even the attractions that bring me back year after year, it’s the beauty and magic that only Disney can offer. Every time someone down here asks me “why engineering?” I go off about Disney and they look at me like I have two heads or something. I’m confident they’ll adjust to my desire.

When it comes to this article, a lot of the material and examples have to do with students not using proper etiquette and using excuses to attempt to diminish their penalty and get away from from doing the loads of work that come with college. With each question, you deliver an answer that gives reason along with evidence to help support your claim that they are wrong within the basis of their argument. Whether it be coming to class, using cell phones, or missing out on a meeting with you (the professor), the answer to each individual question answers why the student should always listen to you and follow directions listed on the syllabus. This document gives students reasons to listen to their professors and follow instructions. This document also gives the student a little knowledge on the life of a professor and how they can often times be tardy to class or not in their office during office hours. It’s a way for students to also understand the other side of the story.

After looking over the etiquette document, the single most irritating etiquette to me is “The Sacred Syllabus.” I agree with the student when they say the professor shouldn’t change the syllabus and assign work that’s due a week later. When I receive a syllabus, I work my schedule around the assignments and manage my time appropriately. If it’s changed, my whole schedule might have to change. I understand the professor has to alter their schedule due to uncontrolled causes, however I need to know much sooner than a week in advance to produce a solid final result that pertains to my ability. With a change in schedule also comes an increase in stress. The last thing this engineering student is going to need is more stress.

It’s funny because when I was reading the “Class Preparation” etiquette about only doing the necessities, I was simply thinking, “yes, oh yes that’s me.” In high school I would often times listen to others about doing very little and still doing well, and why wouldn’t that appeal to someone? I know believe that technique would only work in high school. With so much work in college and so much detail, you need to understand all the material thrown at you. From every paragraph to every word, you have to understand all the material. With that being said, I will admit to doing the minimum in the past in order to save time on assignments.

After reading the entire document, I firmly believe the goal of this was to express your desire for students to respect you as an instructor and listen to you in the process. I believe this because it seems to be your main point on the first page. Usually the first page includes a thesis that states the intentions of the document and discusses what the author wants to explain within the document. After reading the first page, the main idea was clear that you wanted us to treat you with respect, which is a reasonable request for a college professor. It was clear that you want students to start to respect teachers like back in the good’ol days. Students can once again be the polite, and eager people they once were!

Sincerely,

Kyle Indingaro