“I hope you had as much fun today as I did.”
A statement Professor Bob Long has said to students at Del Mar College for years following his lectures. It’s something he truly prides himself on…having fun.
Now, he’s being celebrated as the 2024 recipient of the Dr. Aileen Creighton Award for Teaching Excellence. One of the most prestigious awards presented at the college.
“I don’t do this for the accolades. I teach because I truly love what I do,” Long told Neighborhood News reporter, Alexis Scott.
Long has always held his love for learning close to his heart. Originally from Corpus Christi, Long graduated from Mary Carroll High School with Honors in 1988. He then went on to The University of Texas at San Antonio in 1992, graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree, and completed a Master of Science in Biology degree with an emphasis in Neurobiology.
However, during his junior year at UTSA, the union between him and science was officially created.
“At one point, I was tutoring like 120 students. I literally had a lecture hall halfway filled. I was going over ‘This is what you need to know’. I realized I’m pretty good at this,” Long said. “They were telling me that they learned more from me than one of my professors.”