Being of service to a fellow academic has unexpected rewards

It’s strangely ironic that this week I connected in real time with a fellow classmate from the doctoral program at NCU—after I finished and successfully defended. I’m done with my program now. During the long years of my own academic ordeal, it would have been helpful to have someone to talk to, bounce ideas off, commiserate with… so when Linda (not her real name) contacted me by email, I felt honored to help.

Linda needed support. She had just submitted her dissertation proposal for the second time. She was floundering, mired in confusion about scope, method, purpose… it just wasn’t coming together for her, and she was running out of time in her program. With the sense of magnanimity that only comes when one has successfully completed a long and grueling journey of one’s own, I offered to read her dissertation proposal. She sent it to me, and I opened it today.

Now I think I understand how difficult it is to be a mentor. How does one gently point out deficiencies in grammar, spelling, logic, structure? How utterly humbling. And how thankful I am that, while I had my own writing issues, that they weren’t (I hope) as egregious as using the word “resent” to mean “recent.” Just a spelling error, I know. No big deal. But sloppy writing, in my case, is associated with sloppy thinking. How do I tell her she has sloppy thinking? I can’t. It would be like telling her she has halitosis. Worse, since she’s at the end of her rope, time is running out, and her proposal isn’t ready.

I will wait to hear if her proposal is approved by the University. If it is, I will be disappointed, because that will mean that the standards of the institution are lower than I realized, which decreases the value of my own dissertation. If her proposal is not approved, I will offer to help her, if she wants help. I expect nothing in return. While I was struggling, I would have appreciated feedback from someone with a little more insight and experience, no matter how hard to hear. Maybe Linda will be that open. If not, no worries. There are many ways to serve.