Bryan Zygmont Space Nerd Analysis

Bryan Zygmont, Assistant Professor of Art History, delivers an intriguing and comical lecture while explaining how the obstacles of language, culture, and differences he faced when granted a Fulbright Scholarship to teach in Poland for six months helped him grow overall. Zygmont began the discussion with his own school picture and defined himself as a “space nerd”. He owned space patches, space books, and was “all in” with his obsession. He listed off many controversial events that have happened throughout the years, but Zygmont believed the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger that killed all seven astronauts aboard tops the charts. All this leads to the inspirational quote made by John F. Kennedy, “We choose to go to the moon and
This growth is often celebrated whether it’s big or small. Before his own story, he discusses George Mallory. Mallory was born in 1896 and had the desire to climb Mount Everest in 1924. He failed and was constantly being questioned, “Why?” and his reply was simply, “Because it’s there.” Mount Everest was the biggest obstacle on the planet, and Mallory was determined to conquering it. His last expedition to climb the steep mountain, he disappeared and wasn’t found until 75 years later. He died trying to achieve one of the biggest obstacles known to
He encountered a great culture shock once he arrived to the University, numerous nervous breakdowns in both the grocery store and postal office, and the realization and appreciation of what he had in Dubuque and was only becoming more apparent everyday. The student’s wouldn’t read his assigned homework nor participate in class, but expect him to lecture for 90 minutes straight without discussion. Once he received a class roster midway through the semester he found on average only 25 of his 63 students would be actually showing up to class. Lastly, his deprivation of his wife was growing more prominent daily. They would video chat as often as they could, trying to overcome the obstacles of time differences. Spring Break and his wife had arrived in Poland and Zygmont was more ecstatic than he had been in a while. His wife and he visited 12 different beautiful places of Poland and once Spring Break had come to a close, he only had to be there on Wednesdays to teach his two classes. The four months he spent in isolation and away without his wife were long and dreadful at points, but he found joy in the situation. The 180 days awarded him with a better appreciated of Clarke, Dubuque, sun, his wife, and so much