Compassion

I went to a big high school and it was almost unheard of to have a conversation with a teacher that was not centered around class material. When I got to Luther, I began to realize that most professors invested more in their classes than in high school and, on the flip side, students were expected to be personally invested as well. With the exception of larger classes that were lecture based or straightforward classes such as math, opinions and personal contributions became an important part of the class structure. My Paideia professor, Amanda Hamp, showed an incredible amount of compassion in the way she talked and interacted with the students in my Paideia class.

She was always open to suggestions of due dates (at least ones that were in her control to change) and suggestions on how to better run the class. Not only did she listen to our requests, but she did everything in her power to cater to them. She never verbalized disappointment in anyone's performance in front of the class and instead offered constructive criticism for the whole class, rather than picking on one person. She was very respectful of each individual's learning style and cognizant of each individual's writing style. Her compassion showed in the way she empathized with how much work we had to do for the research paper and the fact that she recognized we had other classes and obligations.

When I began struggling with my depression in February there were some days when I just couldn't get out of bed. I went in and talked with Amanda and she adjusted the way my participation was graded so my grade wasn't completely destroyed as a result. I didn't have to do less work, she just allowed me to do work in a way that was easier for me while I was getting my depression under control. Compassion, as lived out by Amanda, is truly caring for the all-around well-being of another person.