He’s In

When I was 16 years old I worked at a girls’ camp. One of the college-aged counselors introduced us to a song called, “The Times Come to Try.” I liked the sound and melody of the song, but I never quite got the meaning of it. All the older counselors seemed to really relate to it, but I guess I was too young. Well now, 16 years later I finally understand the meaning. The lyrics go like this:

I know what I have now, safety and love and friends forever.

I know what I have now, but there’s more.

Got this dream inside me and it knows no boundaries.

Maybe it’s too big to satisfy.

But I know now the times come to try.

I feel this song strongly relates to what our family has done with Stephen going back to school. We left the safety and security of his previous career path to follow a dream. I finally understand what it means to make changes in life, for the sake of trying to fulfill a dream.

Stephen will graduate in May with his Masters and we knew it was now or never to try to pursue a Doctorate. He applied for the PhD program in computer science and although he has really excelled in school and won the respect of his professors and classmates, it was never a sure thing that he would be accepted into the program. One obstacle was the reality that his current professor does not have the funding to take on another PhD student. And to add to the dilemma, this professor is currently the ONLY professor at the U doing the type of research Stephen wants to do.

BUT there is a glimmer of hope. A new professor in the same area of research is coming to the U this fall. And IF he would pick Stephen as his research assistant then that would be the miracle we needed to let Stephen continue to get his PhD. BUT there are MANY other students wanting this same position with the new professor.

In Stephen’s letter of intent for his application he mentioned this new professor as who he would like to work with hoping that the acceptance committee would make that connection.

Well, before Stephen even found out if he was accepted to the program he received an email from this new professor asking Stephen to explain the type of research he would like to do and any project ideas. I saw this request as a total miracle. Stephen saw this too as a miracle, but also a daunting task. He wasn’t exactly sure what to tell this professor. He didn’t have any really great project ideas off the top of his head. And what if he suggested an idea and the professor didn’t think it was a good fit for his research. And truly all Stephen really wanted to express to this professor, was “I will do any research you want me to. I will be your slave and sidekick, because I need you in order to get my doctorate.” Not exactly the most academic or professional thing to tell a prospective employer.

Luckily, before Stephen had the chance to fully compose and send his response, the Professor emailed again saying he was sorry to put Stephen on the spot and maybe chatting over Skype would be more helpful. Stephen was thrilled. They chatted that afternoon and after a 45 minute conversation the professor told Stephen that he couldn’t promise anything, but he was going to recommend Stephen as his research assistant.

And sure enough a few days later Stephen got the official letter from the U stating that he was accepted into the Computer Science PhD program, assigned to be the research assistant for Professor Cem Yuksel and with full funding. Wow! We were both in awe and so grateful. Though we still have years to go to fulfill this dream, it is so amazing to see how the Lord has made it possible every step of the way.

As a side note, Stephen was contacted by DreamWorks to come back again this summer. Although I think about wanting to go back to the Bay area daily and we were VERY flattered by the offer, we had to decline because of having a baby this summer. I can’t handle all the stress of finding a place to live, moving, finding a new doctor, having a baby, caring for a newborn and then moving back. When he declined DreamWorks, Stephen tried to make it very clear that we would love to go back next summer. Stephen already received good offer from the U to teach this summer. So, for this year we are staying put.