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Reflections: A Professor's Wisdom
Have you visited the Memories section of the Vassar 150 website lately? If you haven’t, here’s a glimpse of what you’ve been missing:
Psychologist and child advocate Mark Banschick ’78 remembers organic chemistry professor Curt Beck, one of the founders of archeological chemistry and Vassar’s renowned Amber Research Laboratory.
“Beck was a Renaissance man … well-versed in the classics as well as in history, literature and, of course, science,” he writes.
But he also recalls Beck’s kind humanity. When Banschick’s relationship with his girlfriend abruptly ended near the end of one semester, Beck astutely sensed that something was wrong and asked what was troubling Banschick.
“After he heard my story, Mr. Beck suggested right then and there that we go for a walk,” Banschick remembers. On that walk, Beck offered words of wisdom that still resonate with Banschick today.
What did Beck say? Find out by reading the rest of Banschick’s essay.
Plus, read what your classmates and other Vassar alumnae and alumni are writing about their time at Vassar. Don’t forget to submit your own memory to the Sesquicentennial website! Share any aspect of your personal Vassar experience—recollections of your time on campus, inspiring faculty, friendships forged, how the college changed you, how you changed the college and the world.