Recently, I’ve been thinking about all the different people here at UMBC that have really been mentor figures for me. Some have certainly been more aware of their influence than others, but either way, let me give a few shout outs real quickly …
Hooray for Rebekah, Laura, MoMo, Dale, Yvette, Doug, Lee, Etoy, Lisa, Jill, Christie, Dr. Korn, Dr. Shields, Dr. Stacey, Dr. Fatih, and the entire faculty of the American Studies Department.
Why this moment of reflection, you ask? Mostly the fact that, for all that I have a lot of people to draw on for support and advice, applying to Grad Schools means that I have to choose only a handful to ask for letters of recommendation. This might seem backwards … I mean, I am asking them to talk about me, but to me it’s always seemed like more of a way to acknowledge the fact that we do have a relationship that is meaningful and important to me, important enough that I trust them with my future, haha!
Also, I recently had to ask someone in the AMST department to be my mentor for my Honors research project. It shouldn’t have been as intimidating as it was, but I’m a basket case. I asked Dr. Taylor, with whom I took a class over the summer and who seemed to enjoy my work, but I was also keenly aware of how much extra work this would mean for her. As much as I really wanted to work with her, I wanted to give her an easy out if she was already too busy, lol. Luckily, she said Yes so now I can talk about how happy I am that I get to work with her without feeling like I am a pest, haha! HOORAY!!!
