A “Dr.” in the House

Still, my graduate school career was a source of joy for me. Perhaps more than most mothers of two babies in diapers, I had a part of my life to call my own, where my tendency to be a daydreamer, reader and thinker – traits that had actually hurt me as a younger student when my father wondered if I would graduate – could be an asset. Turns out, I was suited to the deliberative academic approach, which was something I had perhaps known all along. I’m grateful that I stuck to the plan from all those years before, even if I had almost forgotten what it was.
The ultimate reward has been that the ability I share with so many other women my age – that of reporting for duty no matter what — has put me in a faculty position where all of my experience is brought to bear. My exercise in mediocrity as an undergraduate helps me relate to students who have even more distractions these days, while my graduate experience schooled me in differentiating the pompous from the purposeful. Just as Hillary Clinton did at age 60 in New Hampshire during the 2008 presidential campaign, I have found my voice — in my case, as “Dr. Walker.” It’s been worth getting used to.

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