Today at work, completely out of the blue, I received an email from a former student requesting some help on a small piece of oceanography work he is completing for an Open University course. It was something I hadn’t given any thought to for at least 20 years and so I wasn’t immediately able to help. However, being the kind of person that I am, I dug out some textbooks, looked at my old MSc Physical Oceanography notes and, when these avenues failed to provide any quick insights, I had a root around online. All of this searching led me to conclude that the question being asked didn’t have a particularly straightforward (aka ‘one-line’) answer, but I was able to respond with some general guidance and a link to a comprehensive set of US university course notes that were relevant.
This particular former student was (how can I best put this?) one who I had to give a lot of support and guidance to while he was on the course so I found it a little amusing that I was still his ‘go-to’ person for help some three or so years after he had left. I happened to mention today’s contact to a colleague and his response was ‘A puppy is for life…’. I think some people might find such contacts a little on the irritating side but I generally go about life helping people as much as I can when they ask me for help and so I suppose it is no surprise that for some students this ‘service’ continues long after they have left. On reflection, I don’t think I would want it any other way really.
Tim O'Hare 