Dr. Me

It's official! I'm done. The defense went a lot more smoothly than I thought it would. What surprised me the most was that it only lasted 50 minutes. I thought it would go about an hour, but then I heard people talking about some that go over an hour, like an hour and a half or even two hours. I really didn't think it would last that long, but one's mind really starts to do crazy things when one is getting nervous. Anyway, it went fine, and like Jan said, I don't remember much of it at all. I remember being nervous before it started. I came to the room early just so I could acclimate myself to the space. I remember getting less nervous as my friends arrived and I just started talking to them. Then I remember doing my little summary spiel at the beginning and thinking to myself that I was doing okay with that part. The rest is a little foggy.

Jan asked the first questions, which were good, a little more challenging than I thought, but good. Then Jim asked some that I thought were really easy (thank you Jim!). Then Doc asked a doozy about how my work resembles the liberal arts tradition or a more vocational/corporate model of education. I mean, I knew the answer, but that was a hard one to actually put into words. Then at one point, the committee started talking amongst themselves which was rather nice because then the pressure was off me. Other than that, I can't remember much. It seemed like all of a sudden they were asking me to step out of the room so the committee could "discuss," and then 5 minutes later we were all back in the room and it was done!

We celebrated with dinner at the Olive Garden with the committee and friends. In all, a good time! Now....if only I could find a job!