So far so good! She's doing really good, adjusting as I expected she would. Of course her days are pretty busy, she spends most of her days in the green house 'planting seeds' and in the lab doing 'lab work'. ha. Today they went shopping for kayaks! They plan on using the kayaks to go to the project sites to transplant the wild rice seeds they are currently germinating in the greenhouse.
She sounds really happy and I know this is an adventure for her.
Yesterday they had a GRE seminar to prepare for the GRE! Today, they listened to students that have gone on for their Ph.D's needless to say....but will say it anyway....they are in the Ph.D program.
I know this sounds pretty simplistic in contrast to what she's really doing on a daily basis. Once she gets settled in maybe she'll have more time to explain in detail some of the more intrinsic details of what she's doing. Her day is pretty full, she's busy from the time she get's to work with her Starbucks to the time she leaves.
I saw one of her BSU mentor's today, probably the professor most involved in the direction her studies have taken her to this point. He wrote the most impressive letter of recommendation to Purdue for the program she's currently involved in, plus he is the professor that recommended her for the scholarship she has received for the last two years.....Dr. Fu-Hsian Chang, Director of Environmental Studies...he has been following her academic pursuits very closely since she decided to major in ES. When he can't get in touch with her, he comes to my office looking for her!
But I will say, the person that influenced her the most is her grandmother. They talked about how Reservation lands are currently being contaminated by so many factors and there is virtually no Native representation when studies are conducted etc. I wasn't in on the entire conversation, but I know it was pretty special.
That's the reason Emma decided to go into ES, her focus is policy and planning. I'm hoping that she continues on with her interests and goes on to graduate school. This is only my hope for her future. It's up to her what she decides to do.
I will say one thing about her being gone this time...it's easier than when she was in South Africa....I could not talk to her, call her for the entire time she was gone unless she called me. At least this time when I need to hear her voice or know she's on the 'other side' I can just call her or text and she answers me immediately. We spend a lot of time on the phone talking. It's still not the same as being able to hug her like I do everyday, but at least I know she's doing good.
One more thing......I'd also be most happy if she decides to settle down and have a family.....that means cute little grandchildren!!
5 comments:
Congrats to Emma. I am sure she will succeed at whatever she purues.
lol purues? ROFLMAO...purrrrsueeeessssss....
One of the most important issues I pointed out to her is to NEVER fantacize about seeking a job with the Reservation, directly. Her future is too precious to have some uneducated person who is full of jealousy to become her supervisor. It would be to her advantage is she could be indirectly involved through some other professional organization. Good Job, Emm. I am also proud of Jamie and Nona, I stressed the importance of continuing their teaching careers off the Reservation. Never let yourselves get caught in a dangerous web of lies. Life is too short to be stuck in a bad situation. Love, Gram
Yeah me too, I'm so glad that they've all gone on to higher education. I know that a lot of their inspiration was from grandma and grandpa.
Cheers! haha! Thanks all, I'll try to put some pictures up hopefully soon! emma
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