(7-21-2007) Throughout my career as a student I was blessed with many excellent, dedicated teachers but one in particular stands out - Howard Sylvester - my teacher for German I, II and III. Dr. Sylvester stands out because he seemed to take a special interest in me when he had no reason to do so other than that I was a student in his class and very badly in need of help. I can only assume that since I had no special significance to Dr. Sylvester he very likely did the same for his other students under similar circumstances. But there is more to it than that. Most of the other teachers at Tech would have gladly given help if asked to do so. The amazing thing in my case is that I never asked Dr. Sylvester for help. He saw that I was in need of help, called me in, sat down with me, explained where I was going wrong, and what I was going to need to do to correct the situation. His advise was excellent but just as important, and perhaps more so, was the faith and interest that he showed in me which inspired me to put forth a greater effort. As a chemistry major German was especially important to me, if for no other reason, because a reading knowledge of scientific German was a requirement at Carnegie Tech for a Ph. D. in chemistry. The German test was not an easy one. One was given a German chemistry textbook and given two hours to translate two separate selections. To pass, one was required to correctly translate a minimum of 25 lines from each of the two selections. So while I am indebted to my math and science teachers at tech, especially Kay Brower, Morris Stubbs, Martin Friberg, Rafael Sanchez-Diaz, Marks Brook and Marvin Wilkening, I am, at the very least, equally indebted to Howard Sylvester.