It is 9:00 AM on Friday, July 7th, 2023, when the well-groomed young man, Mr. Jack McCoy, enters a meeting room in the horticulture department of Ohio State University. Three hours later, this adrenaline-worn student emerges as Dr. Jack McCoy.
The Process
For the first hour, family and friends are allowed to watch as Jack presents his dissertation. He has been tasked with condensing his five years of PhD research into a one-hour presentation titled Exploring the Morphophysiology, Ecology, and Genetic Variation of Drought Adaptation and Water Deficit Response in Chili Pepper (Capsicum sp.). The information and vocabulary are over my head, but I don’t care. Sitting alongside his fiancée, I am enthralled watching my boy-child and remembering our past, feeling (with a mother’s pride) the present, and thinking of his future.
Once the slide show and theoretical conclusion are finished, the laymen are asked to leave. It is behind closed doors that he stands tall in front of his colleagues and advisors to defend his dissertation.
At noon we all meet up again on campus to celebrate under a nearby gazebo surrounded by many Ohio’s native plant species. Jack’s fiancée, Megan, brings him some flowers and a Dr. Pepper, for symbolism. Get it? (he studied chili peppers for his doctorate).
With some of his closest advisors, we sip sodas, eat cookies, and chit chat about our boy, remembering his rocky start: five years ago on the first day of school, he was riding his bike to class when he was hit by a car, thus missing class, tearing his ACL, and requiring surgery. For the next few months, young Jack avoided opioid addiction, walked on crutches, and rode the bus to class; not nearly as cool as a bike.
What’s Next
This is a year to be remembered forever. In the short period of the next three months, Dr. McCoy has graduated from 24 years of schooling, will marry his Megan, and moves to Urbana-Champaign, Illinois as a new teaching faculty member and Horticulture Lecturer.
Congrats Son! You’ve earned every moment.
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