Persistence vs. Diligence

“Diligence is a good thing, but taking things easy is much more restful.”

~Mark Twain

Because they care so much, the fine people in charge of this place I work sent me this letter this morning. Thought I would share with everyone.

"Dear Aaron,

As we approach a new year, I want to take this time to discuss briefly your status in the Pharmaceutics doctoral program. As you know, you entered graduate school at the University of Washington in the fall of 2004, which puts you into your 6th year in the program. This exceeds the 5 year limit of guaranteed RA tuition and stipend support that the department provides to its students, as described in our Policy and Guidelines document. We recognize that individual progress to the PhD degree varies and is dependent sometimes on factors not completely in the control of the student. Nonetheless, we require that a student demonstrate “progress towards the degree” in order to continue receiving financial support beyond the 5 year limit. Provision of this evaluation is charged to the thesis advisor and the thesis advisory committee. With this in mind, I want to encourage you to meet regularly with your advisor and the committee to keep them apprised of your progress so that they can help you achieve your career goals and to discharge their duties. In your case, a meeting at least twice a year would be appropriate.

I am confident that you are working as diligently as possible to complete all of the requirements for the PhD degree and I look forward to the day when you can achieve that goal and plan for the next phase of what I am sure will be an exciting and rewarding career in the pharmaceutical sciences.

I would be glad to meet with at any time to discuss your status in the program, and even your thesis work, if you feel that my input might be helpful.

With best regards"


Now. Doesnt that feel good?