On Turning Mistakes into Opportunities

The Greenbean Casserole. Not just any ole Greenbean Casserole, but THE Greenbean Casserole. Definite article required. La pièce de résistance of the Thanksgiving Table. (Fancy,huh? I learned French back in the 1980s at UM-D from Halina Loukopoulous Minadéo, Dr. Crapo, Madame Shea et al) THE Thanksgiving Greenbean Casserole was my only assignment. And I messed it up. “I don’t need a measuring cup.” Confident in my over-confidence, I eyeballed a cup of milk using the 10 ounce Cream of Mushroom Soup can. Yes. I eyeballed it. Just like my UM-D Calculus Prof would eyeball derivatives. Yep. I eyeballed a cup of milk: One and a half 10 ounce Cream of Mushroom Soup Cans of milk. YesireeBob. Wait. What? “That looks runny, add more Green Beans.” Said Mom. “…and more onions.” “Here’s another can of Cream of Mushroom Soup. DO NOT add any milk.” “Here’s a bigger casserole dish.” “What did you do?” Overcompensating for my psyche’s rising Defensive Whine, I mustered up a snarky “I read the directions.” My science training from UM-D and beyond required an explanation. So did my Mom, but she was willing to let it go as she looked askance at me and took a restorative sip of her Cook’s Drink. “16 ounces in a cup, right?” I said, seeking maternal approval. My mother sighed a sigh that mentally thumped me upside the head. “No, 8.” How could I be so stupid? 16 ounces in a cup?!? So I back-peddled with“Well I was trained in the Metric System.” Which precipitated another maternal sigh. “Simple things confound the complex mind.” That one deserved a real thump. We started laughing. Mom just said “Now we’ll have twice as much.” Although she was gracious about it on the outside, she slid me a look that said “dumbbell”. I just know it. She’ll never admit it though. My mistake of doubling the recipe became an opportunity. You see, we had a guest at our table who had never had the typical Thanksgiving feast of turkey and all the accoutrements. His favorite? The Greenbean Casserole. Guess who joyfully got all the leftovers? Yeah, we doubled it on purpose. ` Alison Tasich (Class of 87) Alison Tasich received her BS in Microbiology from UM-Dearborn in 1987. She went on to earn an MA in French at Wayne State University and a MAT in Biology, Chemistry, and French from Wayne State University. She now works as a Biology, Chemistry, and French teacher for the Crestwood School District in Dearborn Heights.

Falling for Fall

Falling for Fall It's as if my body knows it's the Fall of the year. I naturally begin to crave a slower pace of life, and familiar routines that begin in September. While I am five years removed from my alma mater, the University that's known for giving graduates the "Degree that Makes a Difference," I crave the college life. Well, not the exams and writing papers part. But, it's as if I secretly envy students who get to press the "re-start" button, or "new start" button as they begin or continue their college journey. Which is why I always seem to find my way back to campus during the beginning of the Fall term. Recently I returned to campus to sit on what feels like my 1 millionth panel as an alum, and I can honestly say that sharing my story and experiences never gets old and it's never a burden (even when it means coming on a Friday-yes, Friday- evening). I view it as an opportunity to give back and connect with those that will soon join me as part of the Maize and Blue alumni family. The weekend was the only thing that separated my visit to campus again as I returned on a Monday afternoon for a meeting. I'm laughing to myself as I think about how I became one of the "Strollers" on campus that Monday afternoon. When I was a student, I could tell who were students too. We had a certain look on our face and in our eyes that we maintained as we walked to class. We had a certain strut or stride in our walk. We definitely didn't stroll across campus because we knew we had somewhere we needed to be. Well, as I mentioned, I became a Stroller. But, I couldn't help it! I strolled though the College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters; after all, that building was where I took majority of my classes. That college is synonymous with my college education. That college (which has the acronym CASL, pronounced like castle) is where my parents would pick me up from when I first started as a student and they would say "How fitting that our Princess is taking classes in CASL." Princess, Castle/CASL, get it? I digress. CASL was also where I taught for a Summer program about three years after I graduated. I could go on and on about the memories. While in CASL, I found myself looking at the offered courses, new and old. I looked at the names of the professors, some I knew, some I didn't know, some who taught me. I couldn't help but notice that some Professor's names were missing, in particular Dr. Rahman, who passed last September, and taught many of the African and African American Studies courses. The lack of his presence on the campus still lingers, and I doubt it will ever dissipate. The stroll around CASL reminded me of the struggles to pass my math course, and my triumphs in my composition, communication, and psychology courses. It was also in CASL that I declared African and African American Studies as my 2nd minor. It has since become a Major on campus. But most importantly, my stroll reminded me of tranquility. That somehow no matter how chaotic things became during my college years, my first years as an alum, or even things in my personal life, I've always weathered the storm. Surprisingly, Fall is not my favorite season, primarily because it signifies the end of Summer. Instead, Fall (especially Fall at my alma mater) signifies new beginnings and it does its job reminding me to slow down, be tranquil, and prevail despite all odds. Regards, Leah Johnson | ltaishaj@att.net

Why was UM-Dearborn important to me?

Why was UM-Dearborn important to me? My happy memories of campus are many and varied, from hanging out at the ROC on a Friday night, to wandering the Fairlane Estate to clear my mind, to standing in line in the COB to fill out paper registration forms, to the occasional fancy lunch in the Pool, to some shenanigans in the CAB I’m wiser not to share. If I had to point to the campus characteristic that mattered the most, though, it would be the opportunity for independent intellectual growth.

I came to campus intending to major in chemistry with an ambition to ultimately pursue a Ph.D. Second semester general chemistry with Dr. Potts solidified that goal. He was an entertaining, engaging, and challenging teacher, and by the end of the semester I decided I had to do research with him. I still remember fondly the first meeting in his office, in the spring of 1983. Dr. Potts welcomed me into his laboratory, explained the problem in gold chemistry he was trying to tackle, and gave me the freedom to choose my own directions to solve it. There were many, many stumbles along the way, but Dr. Potts was always patient, encouraging, willing to allow me to try new things, and generous with his time in teaching me new techniques. He introduced me to the literature and to the professional scientific community of chemistry. He taught me how to blow glass (and let me learn the hard way the difference between hot and cool glass). Along with a couple of my classmates, he led me to Chicago in the spring of 1986 for my first American Chemical Society national meeting, an overwhelming and thrilling experience. Hard to believe that 30 years hence, those semi-annual meetings remain a fixture of my professional life.

While Dr. Potts is the singular figure in my Dearborn experience, he is by no means the only one to help my journey of growth. As my laboratory skills improved (slowly), I managed to secure a job doing preparative work for the general chemistry laboratories, and that on-campus job both brought some much needed income and an excuse to spend even more time around the labs. Linda Grimm and Bob Quattro ran those laboratories like a top and were great bosses and mentors. My other chemistry professors---Otto, Donahue, Decamp, Bazzi, Tai, …---drilled all aspects of chemistry into me and prepared me well for the rigors of graduate study. Among my many other professors, I have to single out Prof. Brown (Math) and Prof. Prentis (Physics), whose elegant presentation of difficult topics continue to inspire both my own research and my teaching style. And of course I cannot fail to mention the many, many UM-Dearborn friends who made the days and the nights so much fun.

After receiving my Ph.D. from Ohio State in 1991, I returned to the Dearborn area for a position in the Ford Research Laboratory. I soon came to miss the academic life, and in a display of shockingly poor judgment, the Natural Sciences department welcomed me back to teach General Chemistry in the evenings. Imagine my excitement to be back to my old stomping grounds, but on the other side of the desk! I soon discovered the joy of working with students, hearing their stories, helping them learn and grow, and watching them master new material. During the day I worked with a world-class group of Ford scientists and engineers, building my research portfolio, and in the evenings I honed my teaching skills. That combination of experiences put me in the position to return to the academy full-time in 2004. Years at Ford made this chemist look like a chemical engineer, and now I teach and do research at the boundary of of two in my faculty position at the University of Notre Dame.

I have had many good breaks and great mentors along the way. But the people and the environment at UM-Dearborn gave me the solid foundation to build on.

Written by: William Schneider

UM-Dearborn: The Road Best Traveled

SNAP your fingers…that’s how fast my thirty-year career in R&D seems to have passed, but that’s a good thing, a GREAT thing!  Now in my first year of retirement, I have the opportunity to reflect upon how I got here…what and who were my greatest influencers…and how I can give back! 

At age 18, it is impossible to know where your life will take you and even more difficult to appreciate the significance of your earliest decisions.  For me, as a quiet individual, the thought of attending a large university was daunting; living in a crowded, cookie-cutter dorm room quite frankly, scared me to death.  The appeal of UM-Dearborn was refreshing…a smaller campus, intimate class sizes, excellent faculty with a genuine interest in shaping our LEADERS and BEST, and a MICHIGAN degree!  Although I was accepted in Ann Arbor and at State, my first and in retrospect, my best decision was made…I would attend UM-D!

As a Freshman, I entered UM-D without the slightest inkling that I would become a chemistry major and pursue a philosophy minor, as a matter of fact, I was quite certain that I was destined to be a medical technologist!  So what happened?  CASL happened…and it happened fast!  By the end of my Freshman year, Drs. O’Shea and Potts had inspired me to love chemistry, and Dr. Dutton (Philosophy) had seeded my lifetime love of problem-solving and critical thinking!  I departed on a road that I never knew existed and the opportunities were endless.  I was fascinated by the course work, was able to conduct laboratory research on various topics with five different chemistry faculty members, and worked in the Department of Natural Sciences as a stockroom attendant, lab assistant, and exam grader.  The availability of this “hands-on” experience prepared me well for graduate school, but it was the guidance of Dr. Bertrand and his wife Charla that further propelled me to study under the world renown atomic spectroscopist, Dr. Velmer Fassel, the Assistant Director of the Ames Laboratory at Iowa State University.  You see, Charla had worked for Dr. Fassel, while her husband (Dr. Bertrand) was in graduate school at ISU and she highly recommended Fassel, which gets back to how grateful I am for faculty that truly had my back!  We still exchange Christmas card to this day!

With the foundation that CASL afforded me, how could I help but be anything but successful?  I thoroughly enjoyed my career in R&D for The Dow Chemical Company, Michigan Molecular Institute, Caltech Industries, and most recently, an Associate Research Fellow with The Clorox Company. 

But the story doesn’t end there!  My husband is also an UM-D CASL (and ISU) chemistry graduate and continues to enjoy his career in R&D at The Dow Chemical Company.  We are also very proud that our two boys decided to attend UM-D.  Our oldest graduated in 2014 with a degree Computer Science and Mathematics…he is now employed by a software development company in Troy, MI.  Our youngest is currently a Sophomore, pursuing a degree in Earth Science (Geology) and Anthropology.  We are truly a UM-Dearborn Family!

As for giving back, we have always felt it has been important to provide annual financial support to UM-D.  More recently, I have been a member of the CASL Dean’s Advisory Board.  Being connected to UM-D again has been so refreshing.  Watching my children flourish and grow at UM-Dearborn has been delightful.  Thirty-seven years have passed since I attended UM-D and still, the key elements that attracted me to this university have remained true, 1) a smaller campus, 2) intimate class size, 3) dedicated faculty, and 4) a MICHIGAN degree.  These are elements that truly make UM-D unique in a sea of universities!

I’d be happy to chat more about my experiences at UM-D and can be reached at the e-mail address below.

In the words of the great Robert Frost,

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

…The DEARBORN DIFFERENCE!  GO BLUE!

Kim LaFreniere, Ph.D.

CASL, 1979

kim.lafreniere@yahoo.com