A Different Kind of Graduation

I am "graduating" this spring, too.

After spending 15 years at UAB, I have decided to move on. I handed over my resignation letter this Monday. I loved my job at UAB—and I've already started to miss it, especially the teaching. For a very long time, I saw my purpose as educating young minds. It was an incredibly fulfilling calling, and through it, I cultivated many invaluable relationships. To those students whose lives I had a chance to influence, I am eternally grateful.

Certainly one of the proudest moments as an educator. Little did this student know, the impact he had on me, is far more than I had on him.

Much to my chagrin, I was never a stellar researcher, though I managed to publish just enough to earn tenure. Maybe I wasn’t cut out for it, or maybe I simply didn’t see its purpose. Too much academic research never translates into practice—to me it felt like a numbers game to get onto various ABCDEFG lists. For much of my academic career, I felt like a misfit, like a particle wondering if her true nature might actually be that of a wave.

Maybe she is a wave, after all.

My strength has always been to solve problems and engineer solutions. And I have a burning desire to build something cool, something big, something that will have a positive social impact. Personally, the social impact I care most about is the sustainable future for the planet. I believe that with the technological advancements in the past few years, we are standing at the cusp of an era of great innovations. If I am going to start something, create something, there can’t be a better time than now.

Walking away from a tenured position is painful. There's security in knowing your path, comfort in being respected for your work. And giving up a steady paycheck? It terrifies me. I don't have everything figured out—I'm taking a leap of faith, trusting that I'll find my way forward.

My students, in a sense, have become my peers, because we are all at a stage of figuring out the path ahead. I’m writing this blog as peer-to-peer advice for my final cohorts of students:

It is very possible that the Normal distribution I taught you will never be used again (alas), and your Excel skills might be replaced by AI alternatives soon. What's truly important right now—while you're in a formal, structured environment surrounded by people you can learn from—is to learn how to learn, to hone your work ethic, and to practice integrity. Take your work seriously now. Work ethic and integrity aren't switches you can simply flip on. Instead, they're like muscles: the more you exercise them, the stronger they become. Stay self-aware; it'll help you remain open to feedback and keep growing.

When you look for a job, don't just look at how much it pays and whether it matches your major. The work that you end up doing is likely to have nothing to do with what you major in right now. But with skills to learn quickly and good work ethic, you will thrive. What you should look for is whether there's room to grow and who you'll be working with. Are there people you can learn from? Are they honest, generous mentors who will help you grow?

Finally, I hope you will find a purpose in your work. Purpose will carry you through tough decisions and hard days. It will make your work more meaningful than your paycheck and take you further than you imagine. And when it calls your name, I hope that you answer—even if it finds you at an inconvenient moment, when you're 42 and have an established career that most people wouldn't consider giving up.

I am answering mine.