Reflections

Here we are at the memorial for Beth today.

My Ph.D. mentor, Kate, hosted a memorial brunch today at Gandy Dancer for our former lab manager, Beth. It would have been Beth's 57th birthday, but we lost her last fall after a long, brave battle with cancer. After the brunch, we all headed back to Kate's lab to work on making a themed crossword puzzle in honor of Beth, who did the New York Times crossword puzzle every day.

I really enjoyed my time with everyone who was able to take part today-I miss woking with them on a regular basis. I was very lucky to have such an awesome Ph.D. adviser as Kate, and she continues to include me in lab activities and give me advice, which I really appreciate. She just always has so much faith in me, even (especially) when I don't have faith in myself! I think one of the best things about Kate is her ability to make everyone feel so welcome and an integral part of her lab. Kate is really an inspiration to everyone who meets her, and even after lab members move on to to other ventures, they almost always remain in touch. We all want her to remain proud of us.

It was Thank your Mentor Day last week on January 22, and even though this is late for this year, I want to acknowledge how grateful I am to have mentors like Kate to encourage me and help me to become the best person I can be. I could never repay her for all she has given me and done for me.