Three lessons for the road ahead

Last winter I served as course director for Clinical Immunology at Eastern Michigan University’s School of Health Sciences. Although I’ve had some experience assisting with both undergraduate and graduate level courses in the past, this was my first experience as the course director and sole instructor for a college-level course. The whole process was exciting, challenging, and, ultimately, personally rewarding. It reinforced my long-standing enthusiasm for teaching and led to a number of important insights for me personally and professionally.

As we reached the end of the semester I reflected back on what advice I might like to pass on to the students in my class before sending them on their way. Smashed in there at the tail end of a final lecture on vaccines and public health policy, I shared a single slide and a few remarks as a way of saying “Thanks and Good Luck”.

Note that this is not intended as some kind of all-encompassing life philosophy or guide… just three bits of personal insight for the road ahead to take or leave as you please. So here goes:

  • Take pride in your work. Even many years into his retirement, my grandfather worked everyday. I remember helping him clean up in the yard. He would pile up all the fallen limbs and sticks and then cut them into lengths of exactly one foot, sort them by diameter, and then arrange them into equal bundles tied up with twine. Similarly, cardboard scraps from the house would be cut into squares, stacked, and tied up with twine before going out on the tree lawn for recycling collection. As a kid I thought, “Why would he waste all his time on that? Why not just throw it all in a bag like everybody else?”. Many years later the meaning of his efforts dawned on me: not every task is interesting or exciting or fun. But when you take pride in your work, even the most menial task, you give it significance. Whether it be gathering twigs in the yard or cleaning test tubes in your first research position, a job well done is a small gesture through which we say to ourselves and to others I care.

  • Hold the door open for others. Michelle Obama said it best : “[W]hen you’ve worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. You reach back and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed.” This is especially true in academia. If you’re here it’s because you have enjoyed some special privileges in life. The ability to get an education, perhaps connections to others in academia, or maybe just somebody who told you that you had it in you to do this. As you move up through academic life, others will come to you looking for help. Take a moment to pass on some words of encouragement. Of the things I’ve done in my career, I’m most proud of the small roles I’ve played in others’ successes - students who got into Medical or Graduate school, who got scholarships or grants, or who found a job. These moments make it all worthwhile.

  • The future is uncertain; Trust that you will be able to figure it out when you get there. Although it remains a popular line of questioning in job interviews and admissions processes, none of us knows where we are going to be in 5-10 years time. You can make the most comprehensive of plans, map out every aspect of your life and put all your various ducks in a perfect row and still many of the factors that determine whether those plans ultimately become reality will remain outside of your control. Uncertainty about the future is a big part of life in academia, where we sink or swim based on the whims of anonymous reviewers. But you’re a survivor. You’ve gone through who knows what to get where you are today. When challenges came, you figured it out. Or maybe you didn’t. Maybe you really screwed up somewhere. You are human; failing at stuff is part of the deal. But whatever happened, you got here. And you can do it again. And again. And again…