Frank Morgan

Guest post by Nancy Zuber, Professor of Mathematics and Chair, Berkshire Community College

One of the best days of my life was when my engineering students graduated from Berkshire Community College. I had tortured them through five courses over two years with relentless problem sets and exacting two-hour exams. As the students paraded by us faculty after the ceremony, one of my students came right up to me, hugged me, and said, “Thank you.” Then another student came right up to me, hugged me, and said, “Thank you.” Over and over it kept happening, the same thing, the same “Thank you.” After the ninth and last one, I was euphoric; I found myself approaching my husband in tears. The joy lasted for days. And they still come back and see me.

Derek Carroll describes his path toward a PhD in astrophysics.