Emily Maverick
Chemistry Emeriti: 1964-1989
It was my very good fortune to teach at Los Angeles City College, a school where many students were taking courses to prepare for life changes. Teaching chemistry provides many opportunities to get to know students, their talents, their backgrounds and their goals. Laboratory work involves supervision and control by the teacher, and cooperation between students, and I found that lab work and office hours provided chances to hear students' stories. Here are three of those stories.
One of my students, in his 30s, was a successful contractor though he had very little education. He had been illiterate, but had recently learned to read by taking a speed-reading course. He worked hard and did well. He was on the way to medical school.
Quite a few had studied in other countries. Many had science backgrounds, yet were required to take science courses to become qualified in nursing or other medical professions here in California. English was difficult for many. One young woman had come from Hungary; she later became a chemistry teacher at a local private high school.
Another student came from Korea; he was taking biochemistry. When I suggested that reading some English literature might help with the language of biochemistry he said, "If I have to improve my English to pass this course, I am DOOMED.” (Clearly his vocabulary was better than he thought. And he did pass the course.)
And I myself became one of those students preparing for a life change: my daughter and I took Child Development courses at LACC, so we could volunteer at an Infant-Toddler Care Center!
About Emily Maverick
I was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1929, and graduated from Cleveland Heights High School. By that time, I knew I wanted to study chemistry. Not many women entered the field, so I was grateful for work experiences that encouraged my studies. One of my early jobs was in the Analytical Chemistry Department at the University of Illinois, running ultra-violet spectra for professors and other students.
I met Andrew Maverick there; after our marriage we moved to Los Angeles. He began teaching in the Engineering Department at LACC in 1955. I continued studying at UCLA, finishing with a specialty in X-ray Crystallography.
My father-in-law Lewis A. Maverick, a professor, moved with the University of California from the LACC campus to Westwood in 1929. I feel strongly connected to LACC's 90th birthday!