Although I usually devote this blog to bragging about myself, I must take this opportunity to brag about my wife. Yesterday Katie was awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, the first fellowship for which she ever applied. Katie was one of 2,000 awardees selected from more than 14,000 applications – huzzah!
I have been very excited to support Katie in her major career move to go “back to school” for her PhD. This is the most enthusiastic I have seen her be about her work since I have known her. Applying for programs and grants and fellowships comes with a risk of rejection and failure. No stranger to failure myself, I would love Katie just as much even if she didn’t get into the top schools, receive the top awards, or have her articles published in the top journals. Over the course of an entire career, those types of failures are bound to happen. However, she is certainly off to a great start – accepted at top anthropology programs, top marks in her courses, and now winning research fellowships – and it is very rewarding to see that others value the work she is doing, too.
It is no secret that I married “up” with Katie. Hopefully I can keep up with her contributions to Team KJBGH!
Congrats, Katie! That's exciting news.