““Moments later, confident but cautious, I stepped into my first classroom as Professor Ball. I couldn't have done it without the mentoring and friendship that John had showed me in the months between our meeting and his death a year later. Ever the marketing professor, he taught me that teaching was about customer service and that these 18-, 19-, and 20- year-old students were my customers. "It is not about knowing everything and dispensing wisdom from on high," he told me. "It is about reaching each student individually, heart to heart. It is about connecting with them as human beings in a way that meets their needs, not your convenience.””
