I’m spending a lot of time at home like the rest of us. I’ve found that my garden has never looked better and I’ve started weeding out some things I’ve had in the attic for awhile. Photos bring back memories of fun days with family and friends.
I found a letter. It was tucked in the wrong place in a bookcase on a shelf I haven’t visited in a long time. It was from a professor in my Ph.D. program at Tennessee State University. He was our healthcare professor and had a long distinguished career at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) before joining the faculty. He had a quiet demeanor that fit well: he was an unquestioned expert in his field and didn’t need to make a lot of noise to be heard.
But the letter. He was on my graduate committee but had relocated to North Carolina right before I was scheduled for the last step of my studies: my dissertation defense. He read my research from North Carolina (no Zoom meetings back in 2011!) and had sent his comments to my major professor. My defense was successful and I officially graduated in August 2011.
The letter is dated September 1, 2011. He was kind to acknowledge my accomplishment of finishing my degree and mentioned that he enjoyed our many conversations, as he felt that we “shared similar views of the health arena and were constantly on the ‘same page’.
He concluded with some wisdom (as professors often do) of basic lessons that he had learned and that he wanted to pass along to me:
(1) You will always face change and new challenges,
(2) You should have a clear concept of your goals and what is important to you, and
(3) Make life a continual learning process for exploring new avenues to reach your goals.
I certainly hope our paths do cross again, Chet, so that I can tell you how much your words have resonated with me in these troubling times.
Blessings, my friend,
Agatha