Mail Call: Aggies mourn animal science professor

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Posted: 7/28/05

My favorite A&M professor of all time passed away over the weekend. In truth, I haven't taken an animal science class since 1997, but that didn't stop Dr. Hesby from chatting me up last week, asking about what classes I was taking, how I was doing, etc.

In my opinion, there are three kinds of teachers that most professors should aspire to be. The first are the kind that make their subject interesting. Never before or since have I been in a class where chickens were passed around as props, or where cows were milked in a lecture hall in front of 300 students. The second kind are the professors who they themselves are interesting, and I've never met an Ol' Army Ag who didn't fondly remember Howard Hesby.

The third, and the most precious, are those who motivate. If I didn't already love ANSC107, I was more than motivated to go to class, because I knew if I wasn't in my seat at 9 a.m. on Friday, he'd call my house on speakerphone in front of the previously mentioned 300 students and ask how my Thursday night went.

"Wish not so much to live long, as to live well."

Kristen Clancy
Class of 2000