And it's going to be a great one
Dear students,
If the last week of classes wasn't enough of a reminder, my son's final recital and my daughter's final speech competition are reminders that the school year is almost over and summer is upon us.
Summers are great opportunities. My first summer in college, I took a programming course (FORTRAN, ever heard of it?), and it turned out to help me in getting a job with a professor over sophomore year. Summer after sophomore year, I used my programming to develop analysis software for that professor's research group, and the next summer that software turned out to be useful as his team was preparing a journal publication. I could have never linked them together as being related or building toward anything, but each summer's topic brought a pleasure of working hard.
I heard a similar thought from a graduating senior who'd found a competitive job. It was gratifying to hear because he's an inquisitive person and he'd changed majors early on and later added a second major; so his new job is the end of a real journey. I asked him if, 3 years ago when we first spoke about him changing majors, he could have imagined where he's ended up now; he said something thought-provoking: "I couldn't have imagined looking forward that this is where I'd be, but looking back it all makes sense." The job he'd found turned out to be the amalgamation of the majors, the research, and all the skills he'd pursued here at UT.
The experiences we have and pursuits we undertake weave together like a tapestry to form our selves — an allegory once told by a Native American weaver. Make those threads strong. Even as we are working hard to finish this semester and finals , I hope you're looking forward to a fabulous summer full of possibilities.
Best wishes for the coming week,
Dr. Kopp
PS: If you are interested in taking courses on campus this summer, here is a link to the main Summer Courses website page. http://cns.utexas.edu/students/summer-courses-2014
PPS: Thanks to those of you expressing interest in CNS101 and being a mentor. Those of you who missed the Town Hall, here is a link to a video of that meeting. Additionally, CNS101 was featured in an article in The Daily Texan as well as a follow up letter to the editor.
PPPS: CTBAC is currently accepting applications for the 2014-2015 academic school year, and that we were the student group that organized all of the town halls and focus groups that took place this year. You may include that we seek dedicated students from ALL majors and classifications that wish to be a part of improving the CNS academic experience. Any questions can be directed to the current Chair, Juan Herrejon at juan.herrejon@utexas.edu. The deadline is just past, but I mistakenly did not include this announcement last week so if interested apply here at this link, but hurry!
PPPPS: Each week I try to let you know about events, opportunities, etc in the college. Check out this week's listing here at this link.
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