Driving advisees from the country

Went to Ming Teh Restaurant over in Fort Erie with some of my advisees and their SOs. Pictured are Dave, Amber, Kara, me, Jamie, and Jia. (Bin is behind the camera.) The Tutzauers introduced us to the place, though it seems like everyone in Buffalo kind of considers it “their” restaurant. Jia Lin confirmed that it is Americanized (Canadianized?) Chinese food, but I am jaded enough to admit that I have an Americanized palette.

I tried to be on my best behavior, and not nag anyone, but I ultimately failed. I think it’s a little like the way cycles happen between parents and children: a too strict parent will produce a too lenient parent who then, in turn, produces a too strict parent. Because my own advisor gave me a fairly free hand, I have to resist the urge to do just the opposite and micromanage. Two of my masters advisees plan to graduate this year, and I am very excited and anxious to see their theses. A graduate program, and an advisor, is only as good as this year’s theses, and I am confident that these two — the first advisees of mine to defend! — will produce ones that they will be proud of.