The Teachers Who Shaped My Life

Education is, in many ways, the passing of accumulated knowledge and wisdom from one generation to the next. Better education creates better minds, and better minds hold the promise of a better future. But when I think about education, I don't first think about textbooks, lectures, or examinations. I think about people. I think about the teachers who shaped my life.

Growing up in a small town in India, I was fortunate to have teachers who did more than teach a subject. Three people, in particular, influenced my journey in science in very different ways: my school mathematics teacher, my undergraduate professor who taught me quantum chemistry at IIT, and a professor in St. Louis who gave me my first opportunity to do research abroad. Looking back, I realize that teaching is not only about transferring knowledge. Sometimes, a teacher gives you something much more valuable: someone to look up to, someone who believes in you, or simply someone who gives you a chance.

A role model

My school mathematics teacher, Hemanta Achrajya, is someone I am still in contact with today. What I remember most about him was his sincerity toward mathematics and the depth of his knowledge. I still remember his tightly tucked shirt and carefully ironed trousers every day. It may sound like a small detail, but to me it was not. He was not only teaching me mathematics. He was showing me an example of the kind of person I wanted to become, knowledgeable, disciplined, sincere, and committed to doing something well. That experience shaped my interest in science from a very young age. He gave me more than knowledge. He gave me a role model.

A little confidence

Years later, during my undergraduate studies at IIT, I was an average student and not particularly enthusiastic about much of the chemistry curriculum. I also carried an inferiority complex from coming from a very small town and entering a large institution like IIT. Then I took a course in quantum chemistry with Aditya Panda. For reasons I still don't fully understand, he began encouraging me. It was nothing dramatic. Sometimes it was simply calling my name and asking me to answer a question in class. But those small moments mattered. Someone was noticing me. Someone was expecting me to participate. Someone was, in a small way, telling me that I belonged in that classroom.

That encouragement gave me confidence. I became interested in quantum chemistry. I studied harder, taught myself Fortran programming, and eventually received a very good score in the course. Looking back, I don't think Professor Panda taught me only quantum chemistry. He gave me confidence.

An opportunity

A few years later, I became increasingly interested in research and wanted to experience science outside India. My academic record was not strong enough to make me competitive for the scholarships that were normally available, so I tried another approach. I started looking through professors' profiles and sending emails. I sent nearly 500. For about six months, I received rejection after rejection, or simply no response at all. I was close to giving up. Then Ryan McCulla, a professor in St. Louis, responded. He offered to pay me $1,500 and arrange accommodation so that I could spend two months working in his laboratory. But he did more than that. When I arrived in the United States, he picked me up from the airport himself. He took me to a restaurant, and then made sure I got to my hotel safely.

These may seem like small gestures. But for a young student arriving in a foreign country for the first time, they meant a great deal. I still don't know exactly what he saw in me. Perhaps he saw potential. Perhaps he simply saw an enthusiastic student who deserved a chance. Whatever the reason, that opportunity changed my life. It gave me my first real experience of research outside India and eventually helped set me on the path toward my PhD in the United States. He gave me an opportunity.

What teachers give us

These three experiences have stayed with me. My school mathematics teacher gave me a role model. My undergraduate quantum chemistry professor gave me confidence. The professor who welcomed me to his laboratory in St. Louis gave me an opportunity. None of these experiences were simply about transferring knowledge. They were about human connection.

I have been reflecting on this more recently because the rapid rise of artificial intelligence is beginning to make us reconsider the role of education and educators.

Could an AI tutor explain quantum chemistry better than my professor? Perhaps. Could it personalize a lesson better than a traditional classroom? Possibly. Could it answer my questions at any time of day? Certainly.

But could it recognize that I was a quiet student from a small town who lacked confidence, and that simply calling my name in class might change how I saw myself? Could it decide that an unknown undergraduate from India deserved a chance and offer to support his first research experience abroad? Perhaps technology will eventually become remarkably good at simulating some of these things.

But I am not convinced that simulation is the same as human connection. This is why I don't see the future of education as AI versus teachers. I see AI as another tool that teachers can use. AI may help personalize learning. It may make education more accessible. It may help students practice at their own pace. But I believe teachers will remain important for something deeper:

To inspire. To notice potential. To give confidence. To provide mentorship. To open a door.

I am where I am today because, at different points in my life, teachers and mentors gave me these things. And I suspect that, no matter how powerful our technology becomes, these may remain some of the most important things a teacher can give.