Joy Williams Lind
Comments from Students

The following comments appeared on evaluations from students in my University of Kentucky College Algebra, Finite Mathematics, Calculus I, Calculus II, Calculus III, and Calculus IV classes, and my Earlham Discrete Mathematics, Calculus B, Calculus A, and Parallel Computation classes.

`` Dear Joy, I just figured I would let you know that I think you're a great teacher, and I really appreciate you. I don't think you realize what a great person you are. You have a great personality, and you seem to be really concerned about others. In my life, it's been on very rare occasions that I have found people who are genuinely interested in what goes on in my life, or how I'm doing. Joy, you're one of the great ones! I thank and appreciate you immensely for all that you have done for me (not just helping with calculus - you've helped me in ways that I know you can never realize). Because of you, I have decided to take Calculus II.''

``Joy Williams is the most helpful, knowledgeable, and accessible teacher I've ever had.''

``Joy's a slave driver at times, but we love her anyway.''

``I really enjoyed this class with Joy, and I want to follow her in my education.''

``I love Joy. She is an excellent teacher.''

``This has actually been a very interesting course, and I usually hate math.''

``It's nice to see a math instructor love what she is teaching. Great job!''

``I've never felt so comfortable approaching an instructor for help.''

``You have more energy than any teacher I ever had.''

``Joy has made MA162 (Finite Mathematics) a wonderful experience. I feel very fortunate to have had her as a teacher. She has changed my opinion of math.''

``You really seemed to want us to do well. There are many teachers at UK who aren't that caring. Thanks!''

``Dr. (soon-to-be) Joy Williams' genuine interest and class interaction is the best I've seen - ever. ''

``The level of professionalism you display is outstanding.''

``I like class. It is very relaxed and enjoyable.''

``I feel that you are doing a terrific job teaching our class. Please do not change your teaching style.''

``I think you are doing an AWESOME job! I like that: we've done problems in class, that you are very organized, that you encourage group work and class participation.''

``Ms. Williams has done an exceptional job teaching MA109 (College Algebra). Not only is her knowledge of the subject good, but her enthusiasm is extraordinary. She explains things thoroughly and doesn't make us feel low for asking the question.''

``My skills in math have been strengthened successfully; now I'm not so hesitant towards math problems. Overall, this course has been a great experience for me.''

``Ms. Williams was an excellent teacher who was really interested in how well I did in the course. She was really helpful and was always there to answer my questions when I had them.''

``I enjoyed this course. It set a great impression for what is yet to come. I am excited about being a student here, and if the rest of my courses and professors are like this class and Ms. Williams, I think I will be very successful.''

``Ms. Williams was a great teacher and I would recommend her course to anyone who needed MA109 (College Algebra) or any other classes taught by her. I learned a lot from the way she taught and credit her for my success.''

``I already had a great knowledge of most of the areas covered, but I now have a much better understanding.''

``The teacher took time to help individuals after or before class, and she thoroughly explained the material in the classroom. She was also very encouraging.''

``Ms. Williams was very helpful and explained things clearly. The examples that she did on the board helped me very much, and she was always available outside of class if you needed her help. Ms. Williams was an excellent instructor.''

``I loved the course. You're a great teacher. Thanks for all that you do.''

``Ms. Williams is an excellent teacher. She strives her best to get students to understand and is always willing to meet with a student who is having problems or who doesn't understand. Her work is highly commended.''

``Ms. Williams is a very helpful instructor. She cares about the students' understanding of math. Ms. Williams answers questions in understanding ways.''

``I've learned more about math in six weeks of summer school, than in four years of high school math.''

``I love your energy and enthusiasm in class. I have to say you are the best math professor I have had. The material is interesting and well-presented and explained. So far, I am enjoying this course... never thought I would say that about a math class!"

``I just wanted to say I was very lucky to have you as a Calculus instructor. You have a special talent for teaching. Thanks for everything, especially for being a good influence on my life when a good influence was greatly needed.''

``The positive attitude and enjoyment Joy brought to every class (even at 8:00 am) were her strongest contributions along with her great knowledge of Calculus.''

``She allowed me to become re-interested in math, something I really never liked in high school.''

``Joy is a great teacher. She is helpful, a good motivator, understanding, and she really cares about the students and our success in her course.''

``Joy is enthusiastic, thorough, and very engaging. Her classes are interesting and she actually cares.''

``Joy, you helped rekindle my curiosity and passion for math.''

``She gave many problems/examples where math is useful in jobs and in life.''

``The instructor was approachable, responsive, and interested in what she was teaching.''

``Her unbelievable enthusiasm for the subject and ability to find new, exciting (or at least amusing) ways to approach a difficult concept were her strongest contributions to the course. ''

``I think I can say without a double that Joy cares more for her students that any prof I've had in my three years. And that's not a comment on my profs - they're wonderful - but a sign of Joy's dedication.''

``I've never particularly like math very much. If someone like Joy had played a role in my earlier education, who knows what could have happened?''

``Because she is so knowledgeable, she could explain things in more than one way.''

``Joy's lectures were wonderful. They were extremely well organized and easy to follow. I also appreciated Joy's ability to "read the class's reactions." If she thought we weren't understanding something, she would explain the concept in another way until we understood.''

``Joy's strongest contribution to the course was her complete and total knowledge of the subject.''

``Joy's got her teaching mastered. Best math teacher I've had, and I went to a very hard high school where academics were the #1 priority.''

``She was always energetic, even when she explained the same thing three times.''

``I really enjoyed this course. It's one of the best introductory courses that I've taken.''

``I actually enjoyed math at times, whereas I never liked math at all previously.''

``Joy was great, she showed more passion for math, and for teaching math than I've every seen.''

``She did a great job getting us interested in math with her real life analogies.''

``I'm not really interested in calc, but Joy was awesome. I really appreciated and enjoyed Joy's energy. She made it a lot easier to come at 8:00 in the morning.''

``I was not looking forward to taking calc; Joy made it not simply bearable, but (relatively) fun and accessible.''

``Joy has a great attitude about math, and she does a good job of sharing her excitement.''

``The material was presented to us by a person who knew, and fully understood, the material and was eager to teach us the material.''

``She was fluent with the material. She did not only know the material, she could also teach it.''

``Why wasn't she around in pre-calc four years ago?''

``Math made me shudder before this course - no longer. Thanks, Joy.''

``I now have a genuine interest in computer science and graph theory because of Joy.''

``She is by far the best math professor I have ever had.''

``I am a CS major, and she actually made me more interested in the mathematics side of CS.''

``She made math seem more fun and interesting.''

``Joy always came very prepared and enthusiastically to class.''

``Joy did a good job of showing how discrete math relates to real life situations.''

``She had an excellent background of material. If she didn't know something then she found out and told us the next class.''

``She is excited about what she teaches, and that can inspire students (including me).''

``She is excited about what she teaches, and that can inspire students (including me).''

``She really really seems to love math. She gets all excited about problems on the board, and that energy helps keep the class getting bored!''

``She knows her field really well!''

``She appears to be a brilliant mathematician.''

``She is passionate about math.''

``Without exaggeration, I cannot see how (this instructor's teaching can be improved.) Give this woman tenure!''

``I really enjoyed this class. If I could start over, I'd probably choose to be a math/cs major.''