It's All About Your Passion

I'm inspired to write about PASSION.  I'm inspired to write about passion for our "new" scholars who really aren't so "new" anymore as they get ready to present their research at tomorrow's symposium.  I'm inspired to write about passion for our "older" scholars, some of whom are getting ready to graduate and start their graduate career.  Others are continuing their undergraduate work and seizing new and amazing opportunities - like doing more research at other institutions and even countries!

It's all about the passion baby!  Right?  Several of our scholars recently presented at Dr. Hernandez's College 101 program for at-risk high school students and talked about "finding your passion."  Dr Hinck and I spoke about how the best research presentations come from scholars who allow their passion to come through to the audience.  I can tell you for a fact that our scholars who are starting their graduate programs next fall are passionate about taking this next step in their journey.  They wouldn't have received such spectacular funding offers if they weren't!

You can't fake passion, nor can you just make it appear out of thin air.  You can tell when someone really has passion, can't you?  I believe it's combination of opening yourself to possibilities and opportunities, while being true to yourself.  You'll feel it when you have it!  Read Freddy's post (One Day at a Time) on his first year in grad school at IU and he talks about his passion and already starting to feel like a "real" scientist....

McNair gives you the chance to experience research.  Asking questions and finding the answers can be exhilarating, for sure.  Sure, along with the exciting part comes the hard work which can sometimes be pretty mundane, cumbersome and even frustrating.  That's where the passion comes in!  It's the passion that carries you through...and allows you to "pop out" the other end....when it comes time to present your work in front of a group of people and express the importance of your findings....when it comes time to tell a graduate admissions committee what you are going to do with your Ph.D. in "fill in the blank" and why there is no other better choice for you.

So, here's to YOUR passion!  To finding it.  To nurturing it.  To sustaining it on ALL levels.  Now that's the best!