In memory of Jones Richard

I had always intended to write a heartfelt thank-you letter to Richard after our final exams, expressing my gratitude for his unwavering support and guidance throughout the semester. However, due to my procrastination, the letter was delayed by a few days. To my surprise, when I finally checked my mailbox, a thank-you letter from Richard was waiting for me. In his letter, Richard commended my dedication to the chemistry course we had undertaken that semester. He even mentioned his intention to gift my parents a bottle of red wine and, in a thoughtful gesture, expressed his desire to give me a UIUC T-shirt. He shared plans for his upcoming trip to UIUC in late August, where he humorously vowed to buy as many sweatshirts as he could find. In a playful tone, he attached a news link about a Chinese girl who had made it to the NBA, considering my involvement in our campus girls' basketball team, and mused that I could be her if I suddenly grew 15 feet taller. He then jestingly promised to start researching human growth hormones.

In my initial response, I mentioned my plan to gift him some green tea as a token of my appreciation. He was delighted with the idea but noted that his summer schedule was jam-packed. His itinerary included visits to Xi'an, a stint in Canada to attend an academic conference, and a European adventure. He signed off with an enthusiastic "See you in September!"

Richard also shared his retirement plans for August 2020 and expressed concerns about passing on his teaching responsibilities to the next professor. He contemplated the future of our institute and urged Zhejiang University to play a more significant role in our ongoing cooperation project. Upon receiving his email early one morning, I crafted a lengthy reply letter. In it, I shared my perspective on the cooperation project, warmly recommended Xi'an's famous scenic spots and historical significance, and assured him that China had so much more to offer. I encouraged him to explore the rich tapestry of this country during his travels.I anxiously awaited his response, eager to see how he would react to my perspectives and whether he'd show interest in the Xi'an, I passionately described in my letter. What's particularly perplexing is that in the past, Richard would consistently reply within two days. However, this time, an unusually prolonged period of silence ensued. Every morning, I'd rush to my office and eagerly check my mailbox, but alas, no response arrived.

Little did I anticipate that this silence would persist indefinitely.

Looking back now, I can't help but think that had I completed my letter earlier, I might have shared it with him sooner...

On July 5th, our mentor took us to attend a forum. (I am working as a research assistant in this period of time in Zhejiang University) The scheduled start time had arrived, but there was no activity on the stage. Seated in the second-to-last row, I grew increasingly bored as I waited. Then, out of nowhere, my classmate seated beside me nudged me and gestured for me to check the news in the group chat of our writing course. As I opened the message, my world came crashing to a standstill. It couldn't be true! Was this some kind of cruel joke? My classmate cautiously leaned over and asked, "What does 'pass away' mean in this context?" What else could it mean? I was left utterly speechless.

As I sat at the back, tears welled up in my eyes, and I couldn't help but think of the gift I had prepared for him, still quietly waiting in my residence. Regret gnawed at me, and I shed tears for my own procrastination. To be honest, there was still a chance to give him my gift when we returned to school at the beginning of that summer. Richard might have returned to the campus for a few days after the end of this semester. However, I failed to make the effort to discuss his convenience and send it. I had assumed that Richard would return in September as he had mentioned, planning to meet with him after September 4th. My laziness made me miss the last opportunity...

In the afternoon, I accompanied my friend from Renmin University of China, who had the task of university presentations, back to our alma to give a presentation introducing her university. By the way, I also introduced our Zhejiang University International Campus. Talking about ZJUI 's study and life, I found that the example given in my PowerPoint is the screenshot of the communication between Richard and me, and it is accompanied by the first email I received from Richard. All of a sudden, I was choked up on the stage, tears nearly came out of my eyes, and I couldn't say anything. I endured it for a while and told the students that this was the email record I had with a very good teacher. I said, this teacher is very good, and the class is very humorous. He will directly write emails to praise you for everyone's outstanding performance. After the group presentation, he will also write a very detailed evaluation and review of everyone's performance. Communicating with professors is very accessible, you just need to express...

I suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness. How should I describe it to them so that they can recognize such a teacher? How should I say it, can fully express his influence on me, the impression he left on me?

How should I tell them that in the first semester of my freshman year, when I missed the chemistry mid-term exam in the morning because of injury and fainting, and when I came back from the hospital in the afternoon, I walked from the rainstorm to the exam room with an umbrella in a dizzy state, anxiously asking him whether I can take the afternoon exam, he straight up "throwing me out" and telling me to go back and rest and not worry about my test scores. I felt suddenly relieved.

How should I tell them how I felt when I received a letter addressed to me for the first time in my freshman year who didn’t know how to communicate with professors, just to praise me? After the presentation of the ENG course, introduction to engineering, he wrote a long email to analyze the performance of each group and the reasons for the scores, and gave overall and individual suggestions. He also wrote an email to me specifically praising my performance in the presentation. It really gave me a great sense of accomplishment and motivation.

After he found out that I handed in the first draft of independent learning at 12 o'clock in the middle of the night, he would send me an e-mail to tell me that his was impressive that I made to attend his class on time at 8 am in the next morning. When I expressed my doubts and dissatisfaction with my first draft, he told me that he a appreciate all the work and rework, and gave me more reference suggestions and revision suggestions. When I sent the final draft to him and told him about the tangled mental journey in my revision, he gave me his own example and told me that he often did the same, and I can do better than him. “Your efforts will definitely pay off.”

He also emailed me when he found out I was walking with a splint on my leg. After all the courses were over, after we met each other in the cafeteria and greeted each other, he specially sent me an email to tell me "nice to meet you" , and told me that he would miss the time he spent in class with his classmates and me.

He guides us to break away from the content of textbooks and let us check the information, conduct investigations, sort out our thoughts by ourselves, and finally express them in the form of a presentation or essay. At the same time, he continued to give us encouragement and help, which gave me a feeling of "learning at a university." He is very serious, friendly, and very careful. He will guide us in detail and clearly, and let us understand what is good about what we do, where we can improve, and how to improve...

I couldn't express Richard's enthusiasm and devotion to us in a few words, but because of the emotional drive, I was choked up and speechless. I can only say to my juniors sitting below, I'm sorry, I just learned the news of his passing this morning. As a teacher, he left me with too many to memory...all of them are deeply imprinted in my heart.

My mother said that her understanding of the teaching philosophy and model of our campus is mainly through the emails Richard sent me (I shared with her before), and she liked everything about the campus even more. And what I'm sharing with her was just part of Richard's emails. Many details made my mother feel warm. At the end of the opening ceremony of the first semester of our institute, my mom and Richard had a brief exchange of a minute or two. Mom casually introduced herself as the parent of the girl who played the flute, but Richard remembered it. In the e-mail that praised my presentation, he also specifically said hello to my mother. My mother said that Richard saw that my parents did not take away the pen issued by the college which had the label and name of our campus on it and encouraged them that they could take it away as a souvenir. My parents also had the idea of inviting him to Jiaxing for a visit, and it almost happened, but in the end, it was canceled due to Richard's sudden issue that weekend. At that time, Richard said that he planned to be free in September, but now that he thinks about it, he will never be able to make it. There are only endless regrets and losses of "it's too late"...

Richard said that every time he takes the high-speed rail, he can see the ancient pagodas and temples beside the railway and is very interested. After I told him he could go to the countryside of Haining or to Jiaxing South Lake, he also said that he was enthusiastic to make the trip. He also wanted to learn more about China and make good use of the remaining teaching time in China. He also told all his classmates that he would see you in September and that he would give me a T-shirt of UIUC. Unfortunately, I will never see him again...

After learning the news, many students sent a memory on WeChat in memory of him. My classmates mentioned many other details about him. He would send all the courseware to each of us, considering that we can have sufficient information when we review. He told us that we could skip his class if we think there were other more meaningful things to do. All his classes this semester were at 8 am. He did not want us to come to class hungry so that we could bring breakfast to class. He also didn't want us to be distracted in his class, so it's okay if you don't come to class because you can't get up in the morning. Before the final exam, he will write down all the exam scope and critical points so that all students can review them most effectively. He will also design various bonus items and self-learning content. Learning chemistry has become very interesting, and students who work harder and harder can gain more!

……

My mother always told me that: if you have something you want to do, you should take the time to do it; if you want to say it, you should take the time to say it; if you want to express it, you should express it, if you have an appreciation, you should let the other party know. When I think that many things will never be done in time, the tears fall uncontrollably...

In addition to being sad, I found that I was really a very lucky person. I can always meet teachers who are very important to my life at a very important stage in my life, accept their help, guide me, broaden my horizons, and at the same time, make me a better self. I really can't finish my gratitude to them, and I can't repay them. I can only work harder and keep moving forward...

Just like Richard said before that he will never forget us, I will always remember him, the countless moments of surprise when I opened my mailbox, the countless moments of stepping into the classroom at eight in the morning, and the memories he gave me. Encouragement, his humor, his love and devotion to students and education.

Here, I would like to be in memory of Prof. Richard Jones with my clumsy writing and description that would never be in detail enough.

This is the first email that means a lot to me.

This is the email I received after I got back from the exam room for that midterm exam that I failed to take.

Richard's email specifically praised another classmate and me who exceeded the full score, after I wrote the thank you letter.

Richard said that he also wanted to go to Beijing before retirement.

Responses received after handing in the final draft of a self-directed study paper.

This is the end of the last email I received from Richard.

Alas, I really don't know how to "finish the speech", I'm afraid it will be difficult to do it.

Maybe let's end here, with apicture of Richard taken by my dad at the parent-teacher meeting arranged in our campus... Richard said that this is one of his best pictures.