My little brother just shared this on his facebook page:
Please think good thoughts, send positive vibes, or pray to whoever
it is you pray to for my brother as he leaves tonight for the Poconos.
He's been called to help in the search for the person who killed one PA
State Trooper, shot another, and is now thought to be hiding in the
woods/mountains near the scene.
We can sleep at night because of
Mark and others like him. Please keep him in your thoughts as well as
all of those alongside him as they work to protect us- this week, more
than ever. #protectandserve #trooperbrother
I fully intend on asking each of my students in the three classes I will teach tomorrow to send up some prayers for the safety of all involved in this manhunt. Can I also ask you to do the same?
Pax.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Love Note / Prayer
Last week, in spite of Marathon Monday being a hard morning for me in terms of waking up after several restless sleepless nights, the day brought many blessings. It all started when I shared a story in one of my classes about how I thought Dusty had eaten my rosary after I had fallen asleep praying. Apparently my story resonated with one of my students. She stayed after class to tell me about her favorite saint and how she had written of how she would sometimes fall asleep during Adoration. I was familiar with this saint, St. Therese of Lisieux, and smiled as I listened. My student then asked if I had read the book, "Story of a Soul", to which I said not yet. She encouraged me to read it and then proceeded to tell me she had gotten engaged over the weekend. How exciting!!
Later on that day, my student surprised me with a well-loved and worn copy of the book during my office hours! I told her Adam and I would love to read the book together and how St. Therese had been a small part of our proposal story!
I had taken the picture of the saying earlier in the day when we visited the Mother Cabrini Shrine and I spied it in the gift shop. Then, later on at church, Adam asked me about the statues of the saints standing before us when he was buying some time before the actual proposal a few minute after this photo was taken. You can see St. Therese of Liseux next to St. Anthony of Padua in front of us! She is usually depicted with flowers around her or in her arms around the cross she bears for she is also known as St. Therese of the Little Flower.
Today is exactly 8 months before our wedding day!! The other day we skyped between classes through my phone. It cost me an extra $5 to talk for just a few minutes but was worth it. It's incredible to think of holding him in the palm of my hand as I did when skyping with him through my phone the other day (although I need to remember I can't afford to use skype on my phone anymore). How blessed to be entrusted to help care for this man and be his helper as he strives to get to Heaven. Of all the women God could have hand selected for the job He brought Adam to me. Please, Lord, help me to always be mindful of this gift, even if I am feeling frustrated or upset over something. What a precious precious gift! Help me, Lord, to always cherish this man, Adam Charles, even if/when I don't feel like it or my pride gets in the way. With your help, God, I want to walk by Adam's side and support him. Help me to surrender my will and to follow in Your plan for Adam's and my life. Help me to never lose sight of the fact that Adam is your child and to work toward satisfying Your desires for the future even if it may disagree with what I think or want to happen. Finally, thank you from the bottom of an undivided heart, for bringing Adam and me together last October. These last eleven months have been some of the happiest I've known and I feel so humbled and honored to have met the man I was created for - - - please help me to never lose this sense of gratitude and to serve the best way I can through my role/vocation as Adam's wife in 8 months.
Later on that day, my student surprised me with a well-loved and worn copy of the book during my office hours! I told her Adam and I would love to read the book together and how St. Therese had been a small part of our proposal story!
Today is exactly 8 months before our wedding day!! The other day we skyped between classes through my phone. It cost me an extra $5 to talk for just a few minutes but was worth it. It's incredible to think of holding him in the palm of my hand as I did when skyping with him through my phone the other day (although I need to remember I can't afford to use skype on my phone anymore). How blessed to be entrusted to help care for this man and be his helper as he strives to get to Heaven. Of all the women God could have hand selected for the job He brought Adam to me. Please, Lord, help me to always be mindful of this gift, even if I am feeling frustrated or upset over something. What a precious precious gift! Help me, Lord, to always cherish this man, Adam Charles, even if/when I don't feel like it or my pride gets in the way. With your help, God, I want to walk by Adam's side and support him. Help me to surrender my will and to follow in Your plan for Adam's and my life. Help me to never lose sight of the fact that Adam is your child and to work toward satisfying Your desires for the future even if it may disagree with what I think or want to happen. Finally, thank you from the bottom of an undivided heart, for bringing Adam and me together last October. These last eleven months have been some of the happiest I've known and I feel so humbled and honored to have met the man I was created for - - - please help me to never lose this sense of gratitude and to serve the best way I can through my role/vocation as Adam's wife in 8 months.
Lucky Number 7
When it rains, it pours.
Upon checking my email after lunch I discovered a manuscript that was accepted in July 2013 (yes, over a year ago) is seeing the light of day and is in the current issue of Exceptional Children. If you would like to read about this study involving families and American Sign Language (ASL), click here! This is the research my colleague, Sheresa, and I had the honor of presenting in Minneapolis at the DEC conference back in October 2012.
Goodness gracious, this fall semester is continuing to blow my mind. I may never have another publication again but I will always look back on Fall 2014 as the land of plenty of overflowing publications! Thank you, God, for these opportunities and blessings!
As Uncle Jesse would say, "Have mercy!" or as Joey would say, "Whoa!?"
Upon checking my email after lunch I discovered a manuscript that was accepted in July 2013 (yes, over a year ago) is seeing the light of day and is in the current issue of Exceptional Children. If you would like to read about this study involving families and American Sign Language (ASL), click here! This is the research my colleague, Sheresa, and I had the honor of presenting in Minneapolis at the DEC conference back in October 2012.
Goodness gracious, this fall semester is continuing to blow my mind. I may never have another publication again but I will always look back on Fall 2014 as the land of plenty of overflowing publications! Thank you, God, for these opportunities and blessings!
As Uncle Jesse would say, "Have mercy!" or as Joey would say, "Whoa!?"
Hardin, B. J., Blanchard, S., Kemmery, M. A., Appenzeller, M., &
Parker, S. (2014). Family- centered
practices and American Sign Language (ASL):
Challenges and recommendations. Exceptional
Children, 81, 107–123.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
....And we have six!!!
I just received word that a fascinating project and manuscript I had the honor of helping a mentor with in 2011-2013 was published! The current issue of the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education contains our article making it my sixth publication I've had the chance to collaborate on with an awesome mentor. I learned so much from working with Rachel and we did it from the two coasts as she was based out of California while I was in North Carolina at the time. Who knows...maybe our working together across the miles and time zones got me ready to do the same with Adam. ;) Rachel and I first connected in Austin, TX at the TED conference in November 2011 (my first conference I attended as a PhD student) then were reintroduced to one another that following February at the ACE-DHH conference in Jacksonville, FL where I also got to see Dr. Klein from my undergrad years for the first time in nearly a decade!
March 2012 found Rachel and me collaborating on the phone and via Skype. That summer was devoted to helping Rachel with the coding of 5000+ pieces of data through a computer program software called Dedoose that, in turn, really assisted me with acquiring coding and software skills that next prepared me for the following summer as I worked on my own dissertation data in a differing computer software program called NVIVO. Looking back it's amazing to see God's hand guiding everything as I slowly but steadily acquired the skills and know-how to carry out a study through these new skills/networking opportunities. The 2012-2013 academic year was spent collaborating together with Rachel on writing the manuscript that you can now read at the below link!!
Not only did I learn a lot about the coding and writing process from Rachel but she's a pretty fantastic & generous person who also loves puppies so all in all it was a terrific experience. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to have learned from her and to have played a small part in this study. It is an honor to help spread the results of the work and study Rachel created through our conference presentation at AERA in April 2013 in San Francisco and now through this publication!
I can't figure out how to upload the file here but if you would like to read the article in its entirely, shoot me an email and I will send you the electronic file. For now, here is the abstract at the following link. In browsing the titles of the other articles that were published in the same issue, we cited some of the fellow authors in our article!
March 2012 found Rachel and me collaborating on the phone and via Skype. That summer was devoted to helping Rachel with the coding of 5000+ pieces of data through a computer program software called Dedoose that, in turn, really assisted me with acquiring coding and software skills that next prepared me for the following summer as I worked on my own dissertation data in a differing computer software program called NVIVO. Looking back it's amazing to see God's hand guiding everything as I slowly but steadily acquired the skills and know-how to carry out a study through these new skills/networking opportunities. The 2012-2013 academic year was spent collaborating together with Rachel on writing the manuscript that you can now read at the below link!!
Not only did I learn a lot about the coding and writing process from Rachel but she's a pretty fantastic & generous person who also loves puppies so all in all it was a terrific experience. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to have learned from her and to have played a small part in this study. It is an honor to help spread the results of the work and study Rachel created through our conference presentation at AERA in April 2013 in San Francisco and now through this publication!
I can't figure out how to upload the file here but if you would like to read the article in its entirely, shoot me an email and I will send you the electronic file. For now, here is the abstract at the following link. In browsing the titles of the other articles that were published in the same issue, we cited some of the fellow authors in our article!
Narr,
R. F. & Kemmery, M. (2014).
The nature of parent support provided by parent mentors for families with
deaf/hard-of-hearing children: Voices from the start. Journal
of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education,
19, 1-11. doi:10.1093/deafed/enu029
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Bonus Points Humor
On my exams, I give the students a chance to earn up to five bonus points. By answering such questions like, "List one way you studied for this exam" or "Spell your professor's name correctly here", students are able to earn "easy" bonus points. However, the one that always makes me laugh are what they choose to write for the question, "List one random trivia item about your professor here". What I'm finding most of them are saying this semester is "She's engaged" or "She's getting married in May!" whereas in the past I've read comments like, "She has hearing aids", "You know sign language", or "She used to teach in Pennsylvania and Delaware". However, on this last round of tests, I was amused by some of the responses that also provide a little insight into where I'm currently working:
"You are housemates with Raquel!" (the perks of working at a small university where indeed everyone does know everyone!)
"You have beautiful blue eyes :) " (yes, yes, flattery will get you everywhere...ha!)
"She has a friend who's missing an arm but she's functioning well"/"has a friend with one arm"/"You worked with someone who had one arm" (who would have thought that my spontaneous sharing of the success of a colleague in NC to illustrate when inclusion might not be needed in the presence of a disability would have made such an impression?!)
"She has an adorable nephew! =)" (why yes, yes, I agree they are all adorable!)
"Her eyeshadow always matches her outfits" (Huh?!)
"She's a military brat like me!"
"She has a niece" (and I love her to pieces!!)
"She loves to talk about her nephews :)"
"She accuses her dog of eating her rosary ;)" (oh poor Dusty)
"She has a little puppy"
"She's the friendliest teacher ever and loves the Princess and the Pea" (Aww!! I hope this student remembers why I acted out the Princess & the Pea...to illustrate scaffolding and working within the child's zone of proximal development!)
...and I'm sorry but by now, as we head into our fifth week of the semester there is no excuse for this one:
List your professor's name spelled correctly here: "Prof ? "
!!!!
Yes, thank goodness for these little bonus point questions for they have broken up the monotony of grading essay questions 25 times over today. Thankfully, the grading is complete so on to the next item on the to-do list! Progress is being made slowly but surely..yay!
"You are housemates with Raquel!" (the perks of working at a small university where indeed everyone does know everyone!)
"You have beautiful blue eyes :) " (yes, yes, flattery will get you everywhere...ha!)
"She has a friend who's missing an arm but she's functioning well"/"has a friend with one arm"/"You worked with someone who had one arm" (who would have thought that my spontaneous sharing of the success of a colleague in NC to illustrate when inclusion might not be needed in the presence of a disability would have made such an impression?!)
"She has an adorable nephew! =)" (why yes, yes, I agree they are all adorable!)
"Her eyeshadow always matches her outfits" (Huh?!)
"She's a military brat like me!"
"She has a niece" (and I love her to pieces!!)
"She loves to talk about her nephews :)"
"She accuses her dog of eating her rosary ;)" (oh poor Dusty)
"She has a little puppy"
"She's the friendliest teacher ever and loves the Princess and the Pea" (Aww!! I hope this student remembers why I acted out the Princess & the Pea...to illustrate scaffolding and working within the child's zone of proximal development!)
...and I'm sorry but by now, as we head into our fifth week of the semester there is no excuse for this one:
List your professor's name spelled correctly here: "Prof ? "
!!!!
Yes, thank goodness for these little bonus point questions for they have broken up the monotony of grading essay questions 25 times over today. Thankfully, the grading is complete so on to the next item on the to-do list! Progress is being made slowly but surely..yay!
Bike Harder 2014 style
75 miles.
Would you be able to bike 75 miles?
I know I couldn't! That is exactly what my little brother and our friend, Jess, are doing RIGHT now!!! They are participating in the "Bike to the Bay 2014" event to raise money for the MS Society. They've been training and raising funds for the last several months and today their hard work will pay off as they pedal those 75 miles. 75 MILES!!!! SO impressive!! They even surpassed their fundraising goal and have so far raised $865!! Way to go guys!
It's a beautiful sunny day here in Ohio and I hope it's the same in Delaware where Jess and Patrick are hard at work and my parents are cheering them on...I'm sure I'll hear all about it next weekend when Mom and Dad are here visiting me for a non unpacking move related visit. :)
Congratulations Jess and Patrick!! Can't wait to see more pictures after the ride!
Would you be able to bike 75 miles?
I know I couldn't! That is exactly what my little brother and our friend, Jess, are doing RIGHT now!!! They are participating in the "Bike to the Bay 2014" event to raise money for the MS Society. They've been training and raising funds for the last several months and today their hard work will pay off as they pedal those 75 miles. 75 MILES!!!! SO impressive!! They even surpassed their fundraising goal and have so far raised $865!! Way to go guys!
It's a beautiful sunny day here in Ohio and I hope it's the same in Delaware where Jess and Patrick are hard at work and my parents are cheering them on...I'm sure I'll hear all about it next weekend when Mom and Dad are here visiting me for a non unpacking move related visit. :)
Congratulations Jess and Patrick!! Can't wait to see more pictures after the ride!
So proud of my cousin!!!
Check out this article that was written about my cousin and his wife's "side" job. I can vouch for the yumminess of their kettle corn. In fact, I've been munching my way through a bag since moving to Ohio as I savor a little handful when I get a craving for something sweet. Let me know if you ever need some kettle corn for an event and I will gladly put you in touch with Billy or just use the contact form at the bottom of this cool story on him. Way to go Billy & Richele!
Time to get to it!
Ah, I'm supposed to be in Pittsburgh right now. I should be sitting in a hall at St. Paul's down the street from the Cathedral of Learning but instead I'm still here in Ohio.
I have GOT to get a better handle on this life/work balance thing. All week, I had been dragging from lack of sleep and still was not getting everything checked off my to-do list. That list is now three weeks long with items that have not been crossed off that should have been completed in early September. This past week was especially rough with sleepless nights and not enough time in each day.
Last night, at 2am, as I forced myself to go to bed even though I wanted to continue talking to Adam, I set my alarm for bright and early so that I could meet Marita in Pittsburgh in time to attend three talks today. Apparently I accidentally set my alarm for 8pm rather than 8am so when Marita texted this morning to see where I was, I was saddened to realize I had overslept. Admittedly I did sleep for most of eight hours last night which was very relaxing compared to the other nights this past week. However, I had been looking forward to attending a conference with one of my housemates today. The 10am talk titled, "Writing as Vocation and the Challenge of Social Media: A Conversation" by Marc Barnes (a blogger at "Bad Catholic") and David Mills, editor & author, dealt with writing and blogging which of course piqued my interest and was the talk I had been most looking forward to had already started by the time I woke up today. So, if I can't be there to learn, may as well blog right?
I am really disappointed in myself but as Marita said, "God had a different plan and to have a productive day". I even cut the grass and did the laundry last night amidst grading in planning to be out of the house all day today. Ah!! Oh well, that leaves me with more time to tackle my to-do list today I suppose! So, the new agenda for today is to use this unexpected time to work my tail off with finishing of grading tests, planning for next week, catching up on NAEYC report editing, and revising and resubmitting two manuscripts all in one day. If there is time left over, I hope to respond to emails but that is a big if. Wish me luck!!
Hopefully as I get a better handle on this being a professor gig and back into research and try to not let planning and teaching consume me, I can get back to the life balance in doing non-work things so that I can share with you, via this blog, other things worth writing about as the picture below suggests. In other news....only five more days until payday!!!! It has been 143 days since my last paycheck and I can't wait to go grocery shopping and start cooking/baking again and just in time too! Our kickoff monthly meal, Good Godly Grub, will be happening next Sunday...more on that in a future posting!
I have GOT to get a better handle on this life/work balance thing. All week, I had been dragging from lack of sleep and still was not getting everything checked off my to-do list. That list is now three weeks long with items that have not been crossed off that should have been completed in early September. This past week was especially rough with sleepless nights and not enough time in each day.
Last night, at 2am, as I forced myself to go to bed even though I wanted to continue talking to Adam, I set my alarm for bright and early so that I could meet Marita in Pittsburgh in time to attend three talks today. Apparently I accidentally set my alarm for 8pm rather than 8am so when Marita texted this morning to see where I was, I was saddened to realize I had overslept. Admittedly I did sleep for most of eight hours last night which was very relaxing compared to the other nights this past week. However, I had been looking forward to attending a conference with one of my housemates today. The 10am talk titled, "Writing as Vocation and the Challenge of Social Media: A Conversation" by Marc Barnes (a blogger at "Bad Catholic") and David Mills, editor & author, dealt with writing and blogging which of course piqued my interest and was the talk I had been most looking forward to had already started by the time I woke up today. So, if I can't be there to learn, may as well blog right?
I am really disappointed in myself but as Marita said, "God had a different plan and to have a productive day". I even cut the grass and did the laundry last night amidst grading in planning to be out of the house all day today. Ah!! Oh well, that leaves me with more time to tackle my to-do list today I suppose! So, the new agenda for today is to use this unexpected time to work my tail off with finishing of grading tests, planning for next week, catching up on NAEYC report editing, and revising and resubmitting two manuscripts all in one day. If there is time left over, I hope to respond to emails but that is a big if. Wish me luck!!
Hopefully as I get a better handle on this being a professor gig and back into research and try to not let planning and teaching consume me, I can get back to the life balance in doing non-work things so that I can share with you, via this blog, other things worth writing about as the picture below suggests. In other news....only five more days until payday!!!! It has been 143 days since my last paycheck and I can't wait to go grocery shopping and start cooking/baking again and just in time too! Our kickoff monthly meal, Good Godly Grub, will be happening next Sunday...more on that in a future posting!
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Adversity ~ the spice of life
Sometimes I wish I could fall asleep as easily as my pup. Seriously! As I tossed and turned last night, unable to sleep, each time I would glance over at little Dusty Shamrock peacefully content in a tiny curled up ball, I marveled at how easily sleep comes for him. As the hours from 2am to 5:30am ticked on by, I debated getting up and going into the office to grade the 25 exams that are waiting to be corrected. Or I could prepare for next Monday night's evening class by working on study guides and powerpoints. There are always Science articles to read as well. And I have a huge stack of emails I need to get through in various accounts. Instead, I lay in my bed wishing for sleep to come so I could get some rest. A rosary later, vain attempts at counting sheep, and more tossing and turning, led to the thoughts that are forming this blog post instead of slumber.
I even thought about food as my stomach rumbled. It is interesting how some folks prefer their meat to be heavily seasoned with garlic, herbs, and other spices while others prefer their meat to be more natural and less flavorful. Some might want their meat prepared to a tough finish or more crispy (burnt like my Dad) and others may prefer rare or pink meat (as Adam does). Yet, regardless of prep style spice can season the meat and change the flavor. Then because I was thinking of Adam's less than stellar choice in meat prep (ha!), I began to indulge in a pity party in not wanting to wait for 27 more days to be with him again. Yes, we've talked for 540 hours as of last night on Skype, seeing each other every day except for four days since 11/07/13. Yes, he'll be here in Ohio with me in a little over 8 months and in the grand scheme of things that is but a drop of water in the bucket of life. However, I miss him and crave being around him in person. Then, I start feeling sad thinking of how he will be leaving his family on the West Coast to live on the East Coast and how much they and he will miss one another. It's a slippery slope I try to stay off of and would instead rather focus on the joy in it all. Again, if God takes care of the sparrows, who am I to worry over such things for He is in control.
In an effort to distract myself from such musings in the darkness last night, I also thought about several student encounters I've had this week...and the uniqueness of each situation. One student missed a class because she is a young mother putting herself through school. She stood in line for five hours the other morning to obtain clothing assistance for her children from the local welfare office. Another student missed some classes because her family was unexpectedly evicted. She could barely hold herself together as she explained her absence. Yet another student is grieving the loss of her mother and carrying on her legacy after a brave battle against cancer. Yet all three of these women are striving to be the best versions of themselves and make better futures for not only themselves individually but also their future students through preparing to be teachers. My students, some who are facing much bigger and complex issues than I, are teaching me so much already and we're only four weeks into the semester. Yes, this adversity could be likened to the seasoning of the meat. Sometimes life is tough; at other times life is tender but through it all we can rest assured in knowing that all things work for the good of the Lord and He knows our plan even when we don't. So go on and embrace the spicy and seasoned times of your life for they are helping to cultivate you into the people you are destined to be.
I even thought about food as my stomach rumbled. It is interesting how some folks prefer their meat to be heavily seasoned with garlic, herbs, and other spices while others prefer their meat to be more natural and less flavorful. Some might want their meat prepared to a tough finish or more crispy (burnt like my Dad) and others may prefer rare or pink meat (as Adam does). Yet, regardless of prep style spice can season the meat and change the flavor. Then because I was thinking of Adam's less than stellar choice in meat prep (ha!), I began to indulge in a pity party in not wanting to wait for 27 more days to be with him again. Yes, we've talked for 540 hours as of last night on Skype, seeing each other every day except for four days since 11/07/13. Yes, he'll be here in Ohio with me in a little over 8 months and in the grand scheme of things that is but a drop of water in the bucket of life. However, I miss him and crave being around him in person. Then, I start feeling sad thinking of how he will be leaving his family on the West Coast to live on the East Coast and how much they and he will miss one another. It's a slippery slope I try to stay off of and would instead rather focus on the joy in it all. Again, if God takes care of the sparrows, who am I to worry over such things for He is in control.
In an effort to distract myself from such musings in the darkness last night, I also thought about several student encounters I've had this week...and the uniqueness of each situation. One student missed a class because she is a young mother putting herself through school. She stood in line for five hours the other morning to obtain clothing assistance for her children from the local welfare office. Another student missed some classes because her family was unexpectedly evicted. She could barely hold herself together as she explained her absence. Yet another student is grieving the loss of her mother and carrying on her legacy after a brave battle against cancer. Yet all three of these women are striving to be the best versions of themselves and make better futures for not only themselves individually but also their future students through preparing to be teachers. My students, some who are facing much bigger and complex issues than I, are teaching me so much already and we're only four weeks into the semester. Yes, this adversity could be likened to the seasoning of the meat. Sometimes life is tough; at other times life is tender but through it all we can rest assured in knowing that all things work for the good of the Lord and He knows our plan even when we don't. So go on and embrace the spicy and seasoned times of your life for they are helping to cultivate you into the people you are destined to be.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
My bookbag for school is going to be heavy tomorrow
I just stumbled upon three interesting finds on the interwebs.
1.) http://nccatnews.com/2014/04/04/uncg-student-wins-research-award-on-work-at-nccat/ (article about an award presentation last spring that contained the picture below...)
3.) http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/listing.aspx?styp=ti&id=16183 (electronic version of my dissertation)
I also received a box in the mail today. In it was my dissertation bound into a book. Wow. All the blood, sweat, and tears (not to mention hours and hours of transcription, gas and miles I put into my car, and all the networking that went into making this study happen) are all wrapped up in this simple black book. It is almost too plain. I wonder if I should put a sparkly colorful butterfly sticker on the cover. No?
Anyhow, how awesome it is to hold this beauty in my hands. I'm going to proudly take it to school tomorrow and stick it on a shelf in my office. My family will probably grow tired from the sight of it as I bring it to family functions to show them during the holidays. What an incredible feeling to have this bound copy. Granted there are some mistakes in it that seem to glare back at me from the crisp white pages. It's a wonder the mistakes got past the editor, the dissertation lady at UNCG, my advisor, others who reviewed my work, and my own eyes (yet by the end the pages were all a blur to me) but no matter!!! This black book represents all that has happened since Super Bowl Sunday 2012 and then some!
I am so incredibly grateful to those who have helped with this leg of the journey (you know who you are!). Now, we can sit back, thumb through the pages, and say......"Finally!"
For those of you still plugging away at it....don't lose hope. It can be done and I'll be cheering you on as you inch closer and closer to that Phinish Line! :)
1.) http://nccatnews.com/2014/04/04/uncg-student-wins-research-award-on-work-at-nccat/ (article about an award presentation last spring that contained the picture below...)
-------------------------------
 | |
| 2.) This image with my advisor from the Graduate Research and Creativity Expo back in 2013 which is serving as motivation to find another avenue to present my dissertation research due to not having had an Expo in 2014 for which I already had created materials. I want the chance to play my Trivial Pursuit pie game with this research! ;) |
---------------------------
3.) http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/listing.aspx?styp=ti&id=16183 (electronic version of my dissertation)
----------------------
I also received a box in the mail today. In it was my dissertation bound into a book. Wow. All the blood, sweat, and tears (not to mention hours and hours of transcription, gas and miles I put into my car, and all the networking that went into making this study happen) are all wrapped up in this simple black book. It is almost too plain. I wonder if I should put a sparkly colorful butterfly sticker on the cover. No?
Anyhow, how awesome it is to hold this beauty in my hands. I'm going to proudly take it to school tomorrow and stick it on a shelf in my office. My family will probably grow tired from the sight of it as I bring it to family functions to show them during the holidays. What an incredible feeling to have this bound copy. Granted there are some mistakes in it that seem to glare back at me from the crisp white pages. It's a wonder the mistakes got past the editor, the dissertation lady at UNCG, my advisor, others who reviewed my work, and my own eyes (yet by the end the pages were all a blur to me) but no matter!!! This black book represents all that has happened since Super Bowl Sunday 2012 and then some!
I am so incredibly grateful to those who have helped with this leg of the journey (you know who you are!). Now, we can sit back, thumb through the pages, and say......"Finally!"
For those of you still plugging away at it....don't lose hope. It can be done and I'll be cheering you on as you inch closer and closer to that Phinish Line! :)