Professor M.H is Professor in Cell biology department. She had been working on an enzyme related to liver cancer.
She is wife of my postdoc-era boss. They are the reason somehow I came to OKC, and the first people I met in OKC. I was staying in their home for a few days before I found and settled in my apartment in this strange city.
Her retirement party was today.
They came to this institute in 1999-2000. Her active tenure as professor encompasses 22-23 years.
There were speeches from her colleagues and herself. How one defines success in his/her life is his/her prerogative. But a Professor's main work are research, teaching, and administration. The speeches portrayed her accomplishments in each of these three categories. And the portrayal sounded good.
Sometimes it is good to think from the end (or an end). At the end of her tenure, her accomplishments in the 22-23 years were counted as tangible events. We should actively design our own events as well. Well, things do not go as planned in many occasions, but we should have vision for the future as a part of our own pursuit of happiness.
While seeing her retirement, in these days I am working on my career also. This is such a time to look back the past, and to work on the future with vision.
