In the 30 years that Mary Purvis has taught physics, she has never received such a public note of appreciation from a former student.
“It warmed my little heart because I am retiring, and it was icing on my teaching cake.”
Purvis, a physical science instructor at Chippewa Valley Technical College, began receiving phone calls and text messages on April 14, alerting her that former CVTC student Rob Belau mentioned in a news article that he was inspired by Purvis.
The Chippewa Falls native was interviewed by local media because he works in maintenance and repairs for rockets launched with Blue Origin, according to WQOW TV 18.
Belau worked on Blue Origin’s rocket launched on April 10 with an all-female crew including Singer Katy Perry and Broadcast Journalist Gayle King.
In a WQOW interview, Belau said, “I had a Physics Instructor, Mary Purvis … who inspired me to get into physics. She could just explain the universe in ways I thought was [sic] so cool.”
Purvis said she was pleasantly surprised to hear Belau’s praise.
“I have not had communication with Rob in forever, so it was a tremendous surprise,” Purvis said. “It warmed my little heart because I am retiring, and it was icing on my teaching cake.”
The humble Purvis said not everyone loves her that much, and that as an instructor at CVTC, her job is to teach the content to the best of her ability and watch her students flourish.
“There are many of my students who are out there doing science. That’s just what we do,” she said. “It’s those ripples in the pond. Our students are out there living beautiful, big lives and making differences in the world.”
Although Purvis is looking forward to traveling in retirement, as she reflects on her years of teaching with the School District of the Menomonie Area, and then the last 20 years with CVTC, the 65-year-old said she will miss teaching physics.
“What we do matters, and you don’t do this for the accolades. For goodness’ sake, if you want to be rich and famous, this is not what you do for a living,” Purvis said. “But I think you come to college to find your people, and science nerds are a very small fraction of the entire population. We really are. And to help nurture them is a privilege. They can change the world.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Mary Purvis, 65, a physical science instructor at Chippewa Valley Technical College, was called out for being an inspiration by a former student recently, which she deems the “icing on her teaching cake.” CVTC
