Meet the 91-year-old professor who's gone viral for teaching remotely during the pandemic

Earlier this month, Charles Krohn, a professor of English at The University of St. Thomas, went viral when his daughter Julia Krohn posted a video of him teaching remotely. Krohn is 91-years-old and has taught at St. Thomas for over five decades. Remote learning has been a new challenge for the nonagenarian, just as it has been for teachers and college professors across the world. However, he has persevered in order to give his students the education that they deserve. In an interview with Good Morning America, his daughter shared why capturing the "beautiful moment" of him teaching remotely was so important.

She said, "The fact that [he's teaching] virtually and still engaging and so smart and so quick... It was just this beautiful moment that I just had to capture." Julia had invited her father to her home when he was having computer troubles. That is when she saw him teach a class of students online. She quickly snapped a photo and posted it to her Facebook account, where the image quickly went viral. The proud daughter wrote, "My father has been a professor of English at The University of St. Thomas for 50+ years. Here he is, at 91-years-old, embracing virtual teaching like a BOSS. Listening to and watching him teach Homer’s The Odyssey is a true gift. He’s been teaching it for decades, and yet he has the passion and excitement for the text as though it’s the first time. These kids have no idea how lucky they are."

While Krohn's current students may never fully understand how immensely lucky they are to have such a dedicated educator, some of his former students wrote in to share how thankful they were to have him as a mentor. A former student commented, "Professor Krohn was my UST English professor in Fall ‘92 and Spring ‘93. And right now he is my daughter’s UST English professor."

"He taught me so much and opened up a new world of literature," another added. "His passion and dedication were not unnoticed. I’ll never forget my experience with Krohn." Evidently, a good teacher's lessons stick with you for life.

Krohn's daughter, too, appreciates her father's vigor for teaching. She said, "[There were] all these memories of him in the classroom and how they may not remember much about St. Thomas, but they remember so much about Professor Krohn, that he's the most kind-hearted, most compassionate person you'll ever meet." Watching him teach has been an experience for her as well. "He's an actor as well so that has gone hand and hand in his teaching," Julia explained. "He's just so lively and it's like watching a performance." Since she posted the photo online, Krohn's computer has been repaired—and he hasn't missed a beat.