I just found out that my department voted unanimously for my promotion to full professor!!!

This is just the first step in the process but it’s an important one, and the last time I was in this situation it went very differently. A thread.

About 5 years ago and at a different institution, I waited nervously for news on my tenure vote. Then I found out, and it was not what I expected. I was devastated.

This was one of the worst days of my life. I’ve been through some bad days, but few things are worse than feeling like you’ve wrecked things for all of the people that you care about most in this world. I thought I had wrecked it for my family and my lab.

I’ll never forget that day. As I was reeling from the news, my family and lab members were rallying around me, offering assurance that we were in it together and that they would be there with me no matter what happened.

Several painful months later, things eventually worked out. But what happened over those days and months changed me forever in ways that I will forever be thankful for. If I could choose to have had things happen differently, I don’t think I would take that choice.

That experience forever changed who I am as a spouse, parent, mentor, and friend. It changed the dynamic and culture of my lab in ways I never want to go back. It finally sunk in that the people are more important than the publications and I never want to forget that.

It also made me fearless. And outspoken. And even more determined to change academic culture. If I had not gone through that, there would be no me on twitter. No me writing and speaking about academic culture. No me writing a book.

Sure, I’d still be running my lab and trying to be a great mentor and scientist, but it wouldn’t be the same. I had the worst day of my life that became the most important day of my career.

I’ll admit it’s very nice to have things go as I expected this time around. But, no matter how it had gone, what really matters are the people who I get to walk through it with. Thank you to everyone in @HeemstraLab for being the most amazing researchers, colleagues, and people!