When people ask me what I want to do once I obtain my doctorate, I am always faced with a bit of a dilemma. Do I give them the short answer ("Be a professor at a university."), or subject them to the longer version in which I describe my life goals: To be "Professor", "Researcher", "Student", "Advisor", and "Activist". No one of these labels is adequate, but, together, they form a picture of the person I hope to be.

Perhaps the most obvious role for a student in pursuit of a doctorate is the role of "researcher". In my case, this goal has not always been so obvious. My primary goal has always been to be an educator. When I first came to the University of Illinois, I saw teaching and research as two aspects between which I would have to choose. I could either sacrifice teaching to conduct research at a top-notch university or sacrifice my participation in the cutting edge of computer science in order to focus on teaching at a non-research institution. During my time at the University of Illinois, I have been fortunate enough to be part of an exciting research group that has shown me the compatibility of teaching and research. I now see the importance of the research program in the maturation process of the computer science student and look forward to my opportunity to guide students from their undergraduate education through to the point where they are able to choose and direct their own research program.

I am relieved to have found my connection between teaching and research, because I feel maintaining my role as "student" is of critical importance if I am to be effective in my role as "professor", and research requires a perpetual state of education. I believe that keeping myself on the cutting edge of computer science will further my primary goal of educating students in the collegiate setting; not only in exciting and motivating undergraduates in the classroom, but in giving students valuable learning experiences outside of the classroom as well. This includes such things as formulating smaller research projects for interested undergraduates, as well as mentoring graduate students by helping them develop the skills and confidence necessary to move out of the shadow of an instructor's influence and enabling the independence required to perform at the next level.

As part of my preparation for teaching at the college level, I have taken time from my research in order to be a teaching assistant for an undergraduate course and earned a position on the "incomplete list" of outstanding TAs. Three times a week, I taught a two-hour, lecture-based lab. This really exposed me to the finer-points of classroom-based teaching, and re-affirmed my commitment to becoming a professor. Complimenting this teaching experience, my position as a senior member of my research group has allowed me to be involved with organizing a larger group project and mentoring the newer students on that project. This, I believe, has helped prepare me for the role of "advisor".

To further prepare me for the role of "professor", I have served on two departmental committees. My experiences on the Fellowships, Assistantships and Admission Committee have exposed me to a diverse group of students. Not only did I learn how to write a good recommendation by reading literally hundreds of good and not-so-good recommendations; but I also learned what makes a good application--what experiences and projects I should encourage students to undertake in order to be competitive on an international level. My experiences on the Courses and Curricula Committee taught me how to approach revising the curricula in order to have a strong department.

Lastly, as the "activist", I have a strong commitment to public service. In particular, I want to organize university resources (both laboratories and students) in order to help the local community. In my many volunteer experiences in Champaign (BOAST, mentoring, The American Red Cross and others), I have seen the tireless energy of students, the immense satisfaction students gain when helping others and the desperate need which exists in almost every community in our nation. Youth who come from less-advantageous backgrounds often need only a little encouragement and an opportunity in order to excel in the sciences. While serving as the Volunteer Coordinator of the BOAST project I began tutoring the BOAST students in the afternoons at Parkside Mansard Square. I worked to expand the tutoring program to include other BOAST participants and witnessed the transformation of students who were performing several grade levels below their age group into a group with nearly every student performing at, or above, their grade level. I feel a personal obligation to do what I can to channel some of the abundant resources of a university back into the community in which it resides.

Since I first decided to attend graduate school in my Junior year, education at all levels has been my primary motivator. Student, researcher, professor, advisor, activist--perhaps the term "educator" encompasses them all.