Dear Students,
Yesterday, on the Welch patio, we gathered to celebrate five CNS staff who recently retired after long careers at UT. At the event, the retirees and colleagues had the opportunity to share tributes and reminiscences about their work together.In their funny and poignant stories, I noticed three themes that reveal something important about our CNS community and about how these individuals achieved such successful and fulfilling careers.
- Believe in what you do: Each person spoke with such pride for their work in CNS. And it was clear that that pride stemmed in large part from their belief in you, our students. Our retirees believed their work was changing the world because they believe in your capacity to change the world.
- Have fun: Even though they worked hard and faced many difficult situations, each managed to have fun at work. Finding ways to bring fun and joy into work helped them create community and manage during difficult times.
- Get stuff done: Many of the stories and tributes focused on how our retirees had found ways to do important things despite seemingly impossible obstacles. Sometimes this involved hard work, sometimes it meant knowing the right people, and sometimes the mechanisms were utterly mysterious.
In case you were wondering, our retirees were Sue Harkins (assistant dean for diversity and student programs), Didi Smith (student division administrative manager), Rob Poynor (coordinator of the Biosciences Advising Center), Madison Searle (director of the CNS Honors Center) and Mike Raney (assistant dean for advising and student support). If any of them touched your life in a meaningful way, maybe drop them an email to let them know. I'm sure they would love to hear from you.
And, no pressure, but we really are counting on you to change the world.
Best,
Dr. Drew
Joke: You know what gets on my nerves? Myelin sheath.
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