This has been a particularly fun semester. I have had an unusual number of engaged, enthusiastic students, both at the graduate and undergraduate level; we had a field trip to one of my favorite places on earth (Bahía de San Quintín, see blog entry below); and I got to spend time with our two new faculty, Claudia Avila and Sophie Taddeo, who are teaching me lots.
Stats class is often a particularly challenging course, because many students come in with a lot of anxiety, which is often compounded by the fact that we use “R”, which means some rudimentary coding. And yet these students were among the most positive and focused I have ever had. They helped each other, asked great questions, and generally made the experience SO much fun for me. Plus, it was awesome to see so many really struggle at first, only to lean into the “productive struggle” part of the class, and end up having a really good grasp of both stats and R. And in the end, more than a few gave me thank you cards and even a Toblerone bar - just a thoughtful, delightful group of students.
But also - one of the graduating seniors (shout out to Simon!), who I did not get to know until last Fall, not only dropped by to give me a card, but also gave me the trophy you see above. Simon and his partner - hell, his whole group of friends - are an absolute delight, and I look forward to seeing them all flourish in their lives and careers. Honestly, there was a lot that was tough this semester, but these students remind me of why I love this work so much!