“I Don’t Talk About My Pulitzer a Lot,” Says Professor 5 Minutes into First Class

Assuming the entire seminar of English majors had researched their professor before class, Professor Andrew Kim wanted to make one thing clear, he wasn’t going to talk about his Pulitzer a lot.

Five minutes into the first class, he could already tell what was on students' minds — that they were in a class with a professor who won a Pulitzer back in ‘82. Out of fear that his Pulitzer would derail future class discussions, Kim was prepared to invest 30 minutes at the front of class to explain his reasoning for avoiding the topic of his Pulitzer.

“I could just tell that I had to make sure they knew I wasn’t going to talk about my Pulitzer too often,” said Kim. “I don’t want them to think that’s what this class is about. If they want to hear about my Pulitzer, I can definitely tell them after class or during office hours. However class time will really not offer a lot of space to discuss my Pulitzer — that I got in kind of a surprising way, may I add. A story for another time.”