Grad School Advisory

Had an interesting afternoon today. On Monday, I got a call from the alumni office of one of my former universities. They put on sessions for students each year, in conjunction with the Registrar's Office, on life and career options after university. One of the sessions, scheduled for today, was on the topic of graduate school, and the organizers were in a panic because one of their panel speakers had to pull out unexpectedly. So they had a trawl through the alumni records for suitable replacements, found me, and gave me a call to see if I could step in.

Of course, I was delighted to be asked. I was one of three speakers (the other two being career academics), and the session this afternoon was very informal and relaxed. We each spoke for about 5-10 minutes on our own personal grad school experiences, then invited questions from the students. I must say, I really enjoyed it. And it reminded me, yet again, of how much I miss working with students - it's so gratifying.

It also had an added benefit - the chair of the session today was the Registrar herself. Since I've been bombarding her office with resumes these past two years, it was good to have an opportunity to meet her under such favourable circumstances (and I think she definitely recognised who I was). At any rate, it can't hurt that now, the next time I potentially apply for a job in her office, she'll know exactly who I am.