The Light at the End of the Tunnel

For the past 10 years we have been living the student life as Robert has pursued his B.A, an M.A., and now a Ph.D.  We always told ourselves that one day we would reach the light at the end of the education tunnel and we could start being grown-ups!  We are happy to announce that the light that was once an abstract concept has become a reality!  Robert will be graduating in May, and he just accepted an offer to be a tenure track professor in the department of Political Science at Utah State University!!

His office will be in this building (Old Main)

So, this summer we will be trading in this:

For this:

And this:

For this:

And this:

For this:

Robert officially signed the offer on Tuesday, and the fact that we will be employed when he graduates still feels surreal.  These feelings are mainly because of how extremely difficult this entire educational process has been.  For the past year, as Robert has approached finishing his program, he was advised to prepare for a post-doc and that getting a tenure track job would be a 2-3 year process.  As his adviser put it, "lightning needed to strike" if he as going to get job.  Speaking of his adviser, we had a definite love/hate relationship as he constantly ensured that Robert had really low expectations for a job.  I cannot count how many emails Robert received that were at the same time encouraging and depressing!  Robert ended up applying for as many jobs (roughly 30) that his narrow specialization would allow, and he was told that each job would have anywhere from 50 to 150 applicants.  In the end, the harsh reality of the academic market (like other markets I assume) is that it is less of what you know and more of who you know.  On this point, the purpose of our entire academic career was given meaning as people Robert had met and worked with at Chicago and Houston knew faculty at Utah State.  Given this, his adviser said, "We can be cautiously optimistic that [Robert] may get an interview".

In the end, Robert ended up getting a few interviews (that included flying to the university to teach a class, give a research talk to faculty, and interview individually with the dean and the faculty) and it was more than just luck when Robert ended up getting two offers with one from Utah State (which was his top choice).  We are so proud of his academic accomplishments and how hard he has worked to get us to this point--Robert never imagined how difficult this process would be when he started his program.  We are also so grateful for all the people willing to write him letters of recommendation, make calls to people they knew in the department, and help him prepare for his interview and research talk.  Robert's offer was truly a culmination of all these efforts.  Speaking of efforts, we are also extremely grateful for Robert's adviser.  While frustrating (putting it nicely) at times, we realize all he did and said was for Robert's benefit, and Robert would not have been successful without his constant mentoring.  He truly embraced the role of adviser and, professionally, Robert is who he is because of him.  For that, there are not words that can express our appreciation to and for him.

Overall, we are extremely excited about what Logan will have to offer us (not to mention the fact that we may never have to move again)!  And, while we have enjoyed our time in Houston, especially all the people we have met and grown to love, we are thrilled to be moving closer to both our families (not to mention many of the friends we have in the Utah area).  We definitely recognize the hand of the Lord in Robert getting this job (Robert's adviser expressed a certain level of disbelief with how quickly Robert got a job and even told Robert that he was a little envious with how easy it was for Robert).  We know that this blessing has been the result of countless prayers and fasts on our behalf, and we are truly grateful for the love and support of our family and our Heavenly Father.