вЂњOnly at MSU Denver can you find these types of relationships with your professors,вЂќ Joecks said. I remained close friends with Ernie, and after taking his class, I ended up joining a fencing salon here in Denver and getting my official fencing ranking.вЂќ MSU Denver alum Dave Joecks and Ernie Heyman take a walk after fencing on the Auraria Campus. The professors (at MSU Denver) care so much. вЂњI wish I had a more noble cause for signing up for Fencing, but IвЂ™m happy I did.

I just needed extracurricular credits,вЂќ Joecks confessed. вЂњI geared up my senior year to be kind of fluffy. MSU Denver CommunicationsВ alum Dave Joecks has remained close friends with his fencing mentor since taking his class in 2011. Heyman, like Danosi, has cultivated strong friendships with his students, having laughed and learned alongside them for more than four decades. вЂњI enjoy the challenge of bringing an athlete out of a nonathlete.вЂќ вЂњI particularly enjoy working with students who donвЂ™t have a sports background,вЂќ he said. Istvan вЂњThe MaestroвЂќ Danosi (left) and Ernie Heyman in an undated photo. The sport, he said, is about striving for excellence, and you donвЂ™t have to be athletic to reap its benefits. вЂњI donвЂ™t just tell them what to do I lead the exercises,вЂќ said Heyman. Heyman said he was deeply impacted by Danosi and that he modeled his own coaching style on the fencing legendвЂ™s passion for the sport and commitment to students.

He coached fencing at Wayne State from 1958 through 1982, winning five NCAA fencing championships. Born in Hungary, Danosi led his country to a gold medal in the 1952 Helsinki Olympic GamesВ before fleeing Communist rule in 1956. вЂњGreat coaches are great motivators,вЂќ said Heyman, who turns 78 in August, recalling Danosi, his coach on the 1965 Wayne State University fencing team. Some 56 years ago, Olympic fencer Istvan вЂњThe MaestroвЂќ DanosiВ ignited HeymanвЂ™s passion for fencing, ultimately leading to HeymanвЂ™s distinguished 42-year career as an affiliate faculty member teaching FencingВ in Metropolitan State University of DenverвЂ™s Department of Human Performance and Sport. Watching Lee Kiefer, a 27-year-old medical student, become the firstВ American woman to win Olympic goldВ in individual foilВ fencing sent Ernie Heyman on a trip down memory lane.

Sonoros auraria campus