The First Teeny Step

Hey, remember this post, in which I wrote a draft of a letter to send to the powers that be in the English graduate department at Utah State University to see if they’d consider letting me pursue doctorate classes while working as an instructor at Brigham Young University-Idaho?

Well, I finally did talk to Michelle about it and yesterday I sent it off, via email, to the university.

Today, I got this brief reply:

Hi, Brian,

Thanks for your thoughtful message. I've passed it on to my colleague, Prof. Keith Gibson, to see what he thinks about what you propose. We'll get back to you.

Regards,

Keith Grant-Davie

Significantly, not a no outright. At least they’re (possibly) open to thinking about the idea. I take that as a good sign.

Of course, this is only the first of many, many steps that will have to be taken if this is to come to pass. I’ll have to apply to school at USU again – I may not have to take the GRE again; then again, I may have to, so I’ll see how that goes. And we’ll have to figure out where the money is going to come from. Michelle will finish her masters program in the spring of 2012, so if the stars align it’s quite possible I (or we, she’s also interested in going on in the program, if we can make the financial arrangements) could begin classes, if I’m accepted, that fall. Lots of ifs, but at least we’re on our way down If Road at the moment.