Prof. TJ Schlueter is a new visiting professor in the computer science department. They completed their Ph.D. at the University of Kentucky. Before visiting Union, they did a few years of postdoctoral work in Fukuoka, Japan. 

Students from a mix of grades attended the Dinner and Discussion organized by Association of Computing Machinery-Women (ACM-W) club, with the majority of first-years represented. 

Two first-years currently taking Prof. TJ Schlueter’s introductory course to programming, CSC-106: Can Computers Think?, comment on how they think the Dinner and Discussion helped build their relationship with Schlueter outside of the classroom. 

Ha Hoang Truong ‘26 says that he “participated in the Dinner and Discussion so [he] can get to know Professor TJ better. I found out that they like to play chess in their free time and do some cool research on topics that I don’t fully understand.” 

Despite the level of depth of Prof. Schlueter’s research, Truong speaks to the positive impact of events like Dinner and Discussion. “Somehow, it feels like I’m now able to see them as a whole person, instead of just seeing them as my professor,” he concludes. 

Tessa Klimowicz ‘26 echoes that “I participated in the dinner and discussion because I wanted to get to know TJ better, and I’d say it turned out great. I learned a lot about their time at school and also I’m beginning to understand their research better.” 

First-year students also discuss how they generally feel about Dinner and Discussions. Rathika Nair ‘26 remarks that such an event is a way to learn “about the professor’s life outside of the classroom [and] is a really good way to get to know them as a person rather than just a professor.” 

Furthermore, students like Nair gain the opportunity to “hear them talk about what events led up to becoming a professor as well as why they chose that major,” which serves as helpful advice to first-year students who are in the process of deciding their college major. 

Klimowicz agrees that Dinner and Discussions “are an excellent opportunity to learn more about professors and make it easier to feel more connected” to professors outside of the classroom. 

Diep Vu ‘23, an organizer of the event, says the purpose was to “get to know the professor on a deeper level.” 

“We lost track of time because everyone was immersed in the talk,” Vu remarks.