James Tauber : Accepted into PhD Programme at Essex
Those of you who are Cw/oRM (Currently without Role Model) or CBRM (Currently Between Role Models), it seems fairly obvious to me who should be the front running choice for each and every one of you withouters and betweeners alike:
Accepted into PhD Programme at EssexToday I received a packaging indicating my acceptance into the PhD programme in Linguistics at the University of Essex. I will be a part-time external student for the next six to eight years starting this April.
It's hard to describe just how much this means to me. Doing a doctorate is by far my oldest goal in life. I was about eight when I decided I wanted to do a PhD. In high school, I wanted to do it in theoretical physics (specifically general relativity) but 18 months into undergraduate studies decided I wanted to do it in linguistics.
Various reasons, both personal and commercial, delayed my commencement by a decade. But I always knew I wanted to come back to it. I'm finally on the path. Thank you to my referees and to my new supervisor, Andy Spencer.
Undoubtedly you'll hear a lot more about it on this blog over the years.
If someone like James Tauber can find reason and purpose to continue forward in his educational quest (personally, it would seem to me James should be the one TEACHING, not TAKING the courses, but he obviously feels differently, and whom am I to suggest otherwise ;) :D) then NOBODY has even the slightest justification for not looking to James Tauber, who in the view of me and about 10,000 of my closest friends is the pure and true represenation of the crème de la crème in as many social circles as he see's fit to be a part of.
I'm in pure an indescribable awe. Wow!
Congratulations James! And thanks for giving ALL OF US Yet Another Reason To Envy You. No really, we needed more than forty-nine reasons. This rounds things out to fifty quite nicely :) ;) :D
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Wow. I’m really not quite sure what to say.
You really shouldn’t envy me (and certainly shouldn’t be in awe!). I’m just a guy who gets easily distracted by new books and new hobbies.
You have 10,000 close friends—I should envy you!
Hey James,
I think a quick look at my LinkedIn list should answer the 10,000 close friends question :D (something that I need to fix — LinkedIn just kind up’d and smacked me upside the head… Definitely need to start connecting the dots ASAP! :D)
re: the “Awe”. What can I say… folks like yourself amaze me! I completely understand the idea of being easily distracted… it my case, however, its called ADD :D
Thanks for the great example! You are MOST DEFINITELY a role model for sure… Folks who can accomplish as much as you do both academically AND professionally deserve the “badge” as you are exactly the type of folks that the younger generations should look to as an example of how to live life. Too many kids simply do not understand that when you don’t seek after the tough things in life, you spend the rest of your life wishing things were different, you had made different choices, etc… Pinning the badge of ‘role model’ on folks who showcase just how full life CAN be lived if you simply apply yourself I think is REALLY IMPORTANT!
Of course the interesting part about folks such as yourself is that you all tend to be VERY humble about things… yet another admirable quality to look up to. :)
Thanks for taking the time to comment!