Filed Under School Misc
With regret, I post again about a death of a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh. Worse is its only been 6 months. Professor Keiko McDonald drowned over the weekend while fishing. She died in the hospital, Sunday morning on the 14th of September.
I had the pleasure of attending her Westerns and Samurai class last semester. If you ever wanted a class that breaks from the typical monotony of lecture, Prof McDonald’s did it. Everyday she’d bring in candy to hand out for those who answered questions. It was a novel idea as it encouraged the class to participate. I still remember my class’ initial reaction of surprise and that great feeling of being back in grade school. Though what stood out even more was her humor. There wasn’t a moment where she didn’t have a smile on her face. She would always make comical remarks and laugh. Boy did she laugh a lot. Sometimes laughing so hard, she would have to pause and catch her breath before continuing to speak. LoL. Her ability to put smiles her students’ face was a genuine skill.
My friend Adam, who also attended that same class with me had this to say about her:
“Westerns and Samurai was undoubtedly the best class I have taken here at Pitt. She was the most upbeat, passionate and exciting professor I’ve had. I remember at the beginning of class she told us all about her love of fishing and hiking so I guess it’s a little comforting to find that she passed away doing something that she loved. She will definitely be missed.”
McDonald’s Post Gazette obituary.
Her teaching webpage at Pitt.
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