Dear College of Science Faculty and Staff, One icy, bleak day, driving along Commonwealth Avenue en route to teach Introductory Biology (and none too early), my tire split. Slowly, the car limped to a gas station a few blocks ahead. Gingerly, I started across the icy forecourt to find someone who could help. But someone had already appeared and introduced that he was Paul. I explained the issues, and I can help! he said. Within a couple of minutes, a Red Cab had pulled up and it got me to campus well in time for class. Later, I realized I’d left no contact information, and also had to figure out the name of the gas station. But when I called Paul, to my enormous joy and relief, he had already put on two new matching tires, for balance, and when I picked up the car, the day seemed a whole lot brighter, even though the sun had set. That gas station is demolished now, but the story remains for me a high point of being helped, comfortingly rescued from a problematic situation. ‘Helpful’ is wonderful. Someone who can turn unclear into understanding, who can answer questions, who can give fair support. And don’t be shy to ask for help, in my experience, the answer is almost always positive. Sometimes the request for help is distant, but real. Our Food Drive and your outstanding response was helpful in such a way. Thank you for contributing! Sometimes, there is ‘co-helpful’ that goes in both directions, and both people involved in the discussion are assisted. Integral to serving my best as your Dean is the outstanding help I receive all the time from so many expert COS members, and experts across Northeastern. Almost every decision comes out of helpful discussions, often with talented Associate Deans and Department Chairs. I rely for help on our Teams expert in Undergraduate Advising or Graduate Student Services, Finance, Human Resources, Education, Research, Grants Administration, Space and Safety, Communications, Operations, and so much more. I draw on help from all members of our Deans Office Team and from Faculty and Staff across our Departments. I am deeply appreciative of your help. If you have similar appreciation for people who help you, please nominate them for a CONNECTSAward, Staff Award or more, and watch for a collation of COS Awards and call for nominations to honor our experts. Helpful mitigates the troubling small and large events of the world and gives confidence that some things really are okay. Helpful is how we work together, as one community, to build the good power of science. Thank you for helping me, for helping one another, thank you.
Helpful 1.20.23