Holiday Greetings from The Graduate School!
Dear Members of The Graduate School (TGS) Community,
I hope you all enjoy the quiet calm of Winter Recess and the comfort and warmth of the holidays. This year has tested our collective patience, persistence, and resilience as we work toward a more peaceful society. May you continue to exhibit kindness as we focus on celebrating our shared humanity and meaningful connections with one another.
Kindness is enveloped in a sense of empathy and compassion. I am grateful that the discourse and dialogues we have shared as a community, and will carry into the new year, have been largely centered on these principles.
I feel it fitting to include this poem by Emily Dickinson, which was published in 1891. The power of hope described below continues to resonate well over a century later:
“Hope” is the thing with feathers
“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -
And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -
I’ve heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.
May our feathered friend depicted above remind you of wisdom and hope, and may you feel tranquility in your hearts and a sense of joy this holiday season.
Warm regards,
Kelly
Kelly E. Mayo
Walter and Jennie Bayne Professor of Molecular Biosciences
Dean of The Graduate School and
Associate Provost for Graduate Education
Categories: From the Dean