Wolves surprise for lecturer

- team to sign a football shirt.

Pauline Corbett is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Engineering and the Built Environment.

One of her Construction Management students, Mark Darler, wrote a letter to Wolves describing what a huge Wolves fan Pauline was and why she deserved recognition for her work at the University.

A couple of weeks later the club contacted him, saying that they would be happy to arrange a signed Wolves shirt on his behalf if I brought it into the club.

Mark said: "This was the biggest obstacle of the whole process. The previous week Wolves had been promoted to the Premier League and they had reduced the price of all of their replica kit to £10 to clear their stock.

"As a result it was impossible to get a shirt as they had completely sold out. The only shirt that I could find was an XXXXL shirt that was reserved for a staff member in the Dudley St store. Thankfully the manager agreed to sell it to me, so I had 'Champions 2008-09' printed on the reverse and took it into the club to be signed."

Mark presented the shirt and a 'Champions scarf' to Pauline in her office.

He said: "The reason I decided to arrange something for Pauline is that her sense of humour and teaching style particularly appealed to me and as a result some of my best work was produced in Pauline's modules.

"Although I had always thanked her for her time and help, it is sometimes difficult to convey how grateful you are when you are in a class of 50 to 100 students.

"She will confirm that I am a quiet student and she was probably unaware that she had made such an impression on me over the last four years. That is the reason I decided on trying to get her some sort of 'Wolves connected' present so she was aware that she had made a difference. "

Pauline, of Compton, is planning to have the top framed and placed in a prominent position in her office. She said: "For possibly the first time in my lecturing career I was rendered speechless. Mark was a dedicated, hard working student. I am delighted he speaks highly of his time within the Construction and Infrastructure Department of SEBE. I see Mark's gesture as firstly a reflection of himself and then recognition of the commitment and dedication of Construction staff to ensuring the student experience is as rewarding as it can be. In footballing terms - a good result for all."

Further information 

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