After Hours: Overtime as A Professor

        "Most anything with medicine, you'll have to take Organic Chemistry." Dr. Philip Osburn explains. What sets him apart from the many chemistry professors at Bloomsburg University is his shoulder length dark brown hair and height of 6'0". At Bloomsburg University, Dr. Osburn teaches Organic Chemistry, a class that anyone pursuing a career as a veterinarian, nurse, doctor, pharmacist, or dentist has to take. For over ten years he's worked at BU, but before that, his first teaching job was an undergraduate position in college in a 'Math Lab' at University of Tennessee Martin. "It was basically a place where students who were struggling with their math homework would ask other students who were really good at math or science for help. It was like free tutoring but they called it a math lab." Dr. Osburn clarified.
        Despite having more than two decades of teaching experience, Dr. Osburn still meticulously prepares notes for his lectures. Though his methods of teaching have changed over the years, he spends hours writing and re-writing his notes, reading them before each class. "I've spent over 100 hours, at least, preparing for lectures. It's more than students think." In fact, it seems that very few students know how much preparation goes into each class they take.

Figure 1 (See Note)

       Every semester, students in Organic Chemistry have a lab session. For Organic II their session is four hours long. Dr. Osburn must thoroughly organize his teaching lab, ensure that students have the proper materials available, make sure last week's samples have been tested and double-check that their graphing software is working properly. In Hartline 263, students and professors alike must shout over the roaring of the ventilation system provided by the nine fume hoods that line the walls. (Figure 1) In the lab, Nirvana's Come As You Are plays on the speakers. Dr. Osburn has opened a 1990s Pandora Station on one of the available lab laptops. Everything is carefully labeled in his teaching lab. Stickers detail everything from spare corks and test tubes to various chemicals and solutions. A mislabeled item could potentially lead to disaster but the broken glass disposal boxes, fire extinguishers, eye wash station and spill containment sink the lab possesses help keep accidents to a minimum. (Figure 2) Dr. Osburn sits in a desk chair in front of an array of sliding whiteboards, reading the newest publications of his peers. "Usually labs begin with about 30 minutes of lecture and then the rest of the time students work independently or in groups," he explains as he hands a student the keys to the laptop lockers. The bustling of students and the clinking of test tubes echo throughout the room but it's otherwise absent of the rowdy chatter associated with many classrooms.

Figure 2 (See note)

      Graffiti in front of a lecture hall Dr. Osburn frequently teaches in reads "Organic Chem Sucks!" This defamation confirms students' claims that Dr. Osburn's class is the hardest class they've ever taken, in spite of it only being a sophomore-level course. "Last semester, when I was teaching Organic Chemistry 1, there were 49 students. Right now there are 21, so this is the second semester of the course and of those 28 who left, only," he pauses to think for a minute, "Only five to seven of them ever came to my office hours. A lot of students who don't make it I never see and I have never understood why that is." Although he understands that many students get intimidated when approaching their professors, Dr. Osburn is still confused by the lack of attendance during his office hours.
    "No one wants to be wrong!" he says with a laugh. "It's not a pleasant experience for anyone but you kinda have to push through that, I learned that in graduate school. You learn to ask for help, you learn to not be afraid to be wrong."
     It's easy to get the impression that some students don't care or don't want to put the effort into it. Yet, at the beginning of every semester, Dr. Osburn warns his students about how much work is required from them in order to succeed in his class. According to him, Dr. Osburn recommends studying 2 hours a day throughout the week and frequently reminds his pupils about meeting with him whenever they're confused. Very few take him up on his offer.

Students working in lab for Organic Chem II

      Dr. Osburn has heard his fair share of complaints about the 'harshness' of his class but he just shrugs them off, even when some picture him as the meanest professor alive. "The best part of my job is seeing students succeed. Having students do well in my course is definitely the best part. And then having them come back and tell me 'That was the hardest course I ever took,' I love hearing that because it means everything after that was a piece of cake. That's mission accomplished."
    Dr. Osburn firmly believes that hardworking students will succeed more than supposedly bright students. In fact, one of his best research students actually failed Organic Chemistry I and was planning on switching her major. "I came and talked to her and said 'Look, it's okay. Try again and make some changes. Tell yourself you're not taking no for an answer, you're not leaving here without a Chemistry degree, refuse to give up, ask for help when you need it. Just be tenacious and you'll make it.' "
    This student retook Organic Chemistry and passed with flying colors. She got a job a month after she graduated. Dr. Osburn considers this proof of his ideology: Hardworking students are the ones who make it. "I can guide them but, ultimately, their success is up to them." he explains with a nod. "You're not going to get anywhere without bustin' your ass, you're just not."